Tue Jul 1 13:10:19 2008

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Red Wings give Stuart four-year deal

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Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings brought back one of the key pieces of their Stanley Cup-winning squad on Tuesday when they signed defenseman Brad Stuart to a four-year contract.

Stuart was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline, but a thumb injury limited the 28-year-old to just nine regular-season games with Detroit. He was healthy for the postseason and made a tremendous impact on the blue line, posting a goal and six assists in 21 games with a plus-15 rating.

In 72 regular-season games last year, Stuart had six goals and 17 assists. He was selected with the third overall pick of the 1998 draft by San Jose and spent most of his first six seasons with Sharks, but has since bounced around the league. The Red Wings are Stuart's fifth team since the start of the 2005-06 season.

For his career, Stuart has 59 goals and 170 assists in 579 games over eight seasons with the Sharks, Bruins, Flames, Kings and Red Wings.