DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have signed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to a one-year contract, general manager Ken Holland said Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm very excited,'' Holland said. "I still believe, especially after watching him the last half of the year and in the playoffs, that we have the best two-way defenseman in the world. He's excited to come back, we're excited to have him.''

Holland would not reveal the value of the contract, but a league source said it's worth $6.2 million, slightly more than the $6 million Brian Rafalski, Lidstrom's defense partner, earns. Lidstrom made $7.45 million last season.

"He's helped give us some extra (salary) cap space,'' Holland said. "Hopefully the cap goes up a little and it gives us a little wiggle room to improve the depth of our team.''

Lidstrom, 40, said he made his decision about a week-to-10 days ago after sitting down and discussing it with his family. He said Holland offered him a two-year deal but he wanted to take it year by year.

“There was some negotiations, but not a lot,'' Lidstrom said. "I wanted to give the Wings some flexibility to sign some players.’’

The strength of the team was a major factor in his decision.

"If the team was looking to rebuild and get rid of older players it might have been a different situation,'' Lidstrom said. "But they’re in it to win it. Kenny kept telling me that, too. He said, ‘We want to have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.’

“I believe in the team, its foundation. We have a good core. I believe in the players.’’

The Red Wings have 16 players signed for 2010-11 at a salary-cap hit of $50.4 million: forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Dan Cleary, Kris Draper and Mattias Ritola; defensemen Lidstrom, Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl; goaltenders Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard.

They still have unrestricted free-agent forwards Tomas Holmstrom and Todd Bertuzzi and restricted free agents Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Derek Meech to re-sign.

The futures of UFAs Andreas Lilja and Kirk Maltby are uncertain. UFA's Jason Williams and Brett Lebda won't be re-signed.

The $56.8 million salary cap is expected to be in the $58 million range next season.