DETROIT -- Patrick Eaves resurrected his career last season with the Detroit Red Wings, contributing his fair share of offense (12 goals) and helping to solidify the penalty killing with his willingness to block shots.

The Red Wings hope to see more of the same after signing Eaves on Wednesday to a one-year contract for $750,000.

"Special teams are critical,'' Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We had a tough time keeping the puck out of our net a couple of years ago (on the penalty kill). He took a lot of pride in blocking shots. Getting in shooting lanes shows a lot of intestinal fortitude.''

Eaves, a 2003 first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, was bought out of his contract by the Boston Bruins last summer right after they acquired him from the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Early on, he looked like the odd-man out, but because of injuries he got an opportunity and took full advantage of it,'' Holland said. "Some nights, the Eaves-(Darren) Hem-(Kris) Draper line was our best line, brought a lot of speed and energy.''

Eaves, 26, has some offensive upside. He scored 20 goals for the Senators as a rookie in 2005-06 and has a tremendous wrist shot. But he isn't likely to get the same opportunity of playing on the third line if the team remains relatively healthy. He will play more of a grinding role on the fourth line.

The Red Wings have 20 players signed for a salary-cap hit of $55.7 million. The cap is $59.4 million.

Factoring in the $500,000 cushion Holland intends to keep in case of short-term injuries, the Red Wings have about $3.2 million to spend. They will re-sign restricted free agents Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Derek Meech, the latter of whom likely will be traded or waived before the start of the regular season unless the club is short on defensemen.

The team also remains in hot pursuit of center Mike Modano, who probably won't wait too long to decide if he wants to sign with the Red Wings or retire.

Signing Modano would give the club 15 forwards who are not exempt from waivers. One likely will be traded or waived, but probably not until after the preseason, creating competition in training camp.

Teams can be as much as 10 percent over the salary cap until the start of the regular season.