SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Detroit Red Wings -- management and players -- did not feel spurned when Jiri Hudler bolted for Russia last summer. They understand it's a business.

They also will enthusiastically welcome him back next season.

"We're happy to have him back,'' Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We're in a real competitive business. You want to find every opportunity you can to make your team better.''

Hudler's agent, Petr Svoboda, confirmed Friday that the small but skilled 26-year-old forward will rejoin the Red Wings in 2010-11 after spending one year with Moscow Dynamo of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

With his terrific shot, deft passing ability and willingness to roam into high-traffic areas around the net, Hudler accumulated career highs in goals (23) and points (57) in 2008-09.

It prompted the Russian club to offer him a two-year, $10 million (tax-free) deal, far more than he would have earned in the NHL.

Dynamo's merger with another club paved the way for his release from the second year of the contract.

"He realized money isn't (as) important as wanting to go back to where he likes it,'' Svoboda said. "He missed the NHL, he missed the Red Wings organization and the guys.

"He's thrilled to go back. He had such a great experience (in Detroit).''

Hudler has a two-year contract with the Red Wings with a salary-cap hit of $2.875 million, a deal both sides agreed to before their arbitration hearing last summer.

"The exciting part for me is we know what we're getting,'' Holland said. "He's really coming into the prime of his career. I think we're getting a very motivated player.

"He's a popular guy in the locker room, a bit of a clubhouse clown. His teammates like him.''

Red Wings players, like Holland, favor any move that makes the team better.

"He's got great hands, sees the ice real well,'' Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He can score a goal or make that pass to win a game for you.''

Said Johan Franzen: "He's a game-breaker. Really good hands, good hockey sense. Showed last year in the playoffs he can come up with really huge plays when we need it.''

Hudler is not eligible to return in this year's playoffs.

With Hudler in the fold, the Red Wings have 14 players signed for next season at a salary cap number of $43.6 million: forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula, Dan Cleary, Kris Draper, Franzen and Hudler; defensemen Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl; and goaltenders Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard.

Holland said the $56.8 million salary cap likely will rise slightly. He said Hudler's return won't significantly effect the team's decisions on which free agents to re-sign.