Notes: Howard excited to remain with the Red Wings

ST. LOUIS -- The Detroit Red Wings gave goaltender Jimmy Howard an early birthday present -- a one-year contract extension.
Howard, who turns 35 on March 26, will earn a $4 million salary next season with an additional $1.1 million possible in playoff bonuses. The extension does not have any no trade clauses.

The Wings originally drafted Howard in the second round, 64th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Howard and his family have made their home in metro Detroit and the veteran netminder said he was happy to remain for a 14th season.

"It's an honor," Howard said after the team's practice at St. Louis' Enterprise Center. "Very special to be able to prolong my career here in Detroit."
It wasn't that long ago that Howard appeared to be supplanted by Petr Mrazek for the No. 1 spot.
But Howard didn't pout, he just reapplied himself and earned his job back. Mrazek was eventually traded to Philadelphia.
"Just hard work," Howard said. "Basically re-invented myself, going back to work and learning new techniques. They've been beneficial."
Wings coach Jeff Blashill has often expressed his admiration for what Howard has accomplished in transforming his game.
"He's given us real consistent, good goaltending, I believe," Blashill said. "Real, real happy for him. Obviously, the work that he put in, he's a great example for a lot of the guys in the room of going to work when things are down. He didn't say 'Woe is me.' He didn't complain, he looked in the mirror and said 'I have to be better.' And he got better.
"He's been really, really good for the last number of years. I think when you look at the goalie market, I think he gives us as good and as consistent goaltending as anybody who's potentially available and I think he's done that and I think it's great he re-signed."
It can't be overstated how difficult it can be to change habits you have developed over years of practice and games but Howard found a way to do so.
"No, it was something I had to do over and over again," Howard said. "It wasn't an overnight success by any means.
"But I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks."
DE LA ROSE UPDATE: Center Jacob de la Rose, who left Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Rangers after the second period with an accelerated heart rate, is back in Detroit.
"He'll undergo some more testing tomorrow," Blashill said. "I don't really have any further update except he's doing fine, he's doing good. We've got him lined up to see a specialist and then potentially another specialist to make sure. We want to be extra cautious and make sure we get this handled and know exactly what the issue is."
When de la Rose was with the Montreal Canadiens earlier this season, he experienced a similar issue after their final preseason game in Ottawa.
After the Red Wings claimed him on waivers in October, de la Rose was medically cleared to play.
That is not likely to be the case before the Wings conclude this road trip.
"It would be hard for me to think he's going to be ready to play Saturday, that he'll have been cleared by that point," Blashill said. "I don't want to speculate past that. But as of today I don't anticipate him on this trip."
That means both college free-agent rookies Ryan Kuffner and Taro Hirose will play against the St. Louis Blues Thursday night.
BLUE LINE BLUES: It's nothing new this season but the Wings' blue line is ailing some more.
Veteran defenseman Trevor Daley, who has missed the last two games with a back problem, is unlikely to play again this season.
"Just with his back issue right now, it's something where he needs rest. We don't have time," Blashill said. "The only way to do that is for him to be out for the season. I think right now I'd say there's a strong likelihood that Daley's out for the year."
The Wings recalled defenseman Libor Sulak from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions Wednesday and he arrived in time for practice after playing with in the Griffins' 2-1 shootout victory in San Antonio Tuesday night.

However, when Sulak spoke to reporters, he sounded a bit hoarse.
"I don't anticipate Sulak playing tomorrow," Blashill said. "He doesn't feel great right now. I think he's going to be out with a sickness tomorrow. I anticipate him to be ready to hopefully be ready to play Saturday, but we'll take that day by day. He thought he was going to be OK. He just doesn't feel good at all right now, so I don't anticipate him in tomorrow."
Veteran defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, is getting closer but is not ready yet.
"I'd say potential for Saturday, probable for Monday," Blashill said.
Mike Green is already out for the rest of the season due to a recurrence of the virus that kept him out the first nine games of the season.
HIROSE REFLECTS: After scrolling through the many messages he received on his phone after his NHL debut and first NHL point, Hirose reflected on the night.
"It was pretty special to play my first NHL game and at Madison Square Garden will all your family there," Hirose said. "I had a lot of texts after the game. It was awesome to see the support of all my friends."
Earlier Wednesday, Hirose found out he was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award for his Michigan State accomplishments. Michigan's Quinn Hughes is another.

"I'm looking at it sort of as a team thing," the modest Hirose said. "I couldn't have got any of those accolades without the coaches and my teammates. It's really just good for the program and I'm just happy it's getting the recognition it deserves."
Hirose said a similar thing Tuesday after being named Big Ten Player of the Year.
Hirose led the nation in points with 50, points per game at 1.47, assists with 35, multi-point games with 15 and three-point games with nine.
In three seasons with the Spartans, Hirose had 116 points (33-83-116) in 106 games.
"I wouldn't have traded those three years for anything else," Hirose said. "I met a lot of good people that will probably be friends for the rest of my life."
The Calgary native said he decided to go the college route because there was an opportunity to play.
"They had some good coaches there at the beginning and then obviously Danton Cole comes in. He helped me a lot, too," Hirose said. "The tradition there speaks for itself. They have a great hockey program. Not a lot of bad things to say about Michigan State."
Now that Hirose has officially started his post-college career, he said he'll miss his teammates the most.
"You're around those guys every day, taking classes together, eating together," Hirose said. "It's something special that not a lot of people get to experience. I'm definitely gonna miss the boys a lot."
Of course, many of them -- including a current Red Wings forward -- reached out to him after his showing Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
"(Justin) Abdelkader texted me a little bit and he tweeted at me," Hirose said. "Just all the guys at school said they were watching the games and sent me a bunch of videos, so that was pretty cool."