The Philadelphia Flyers on Friday signed forward Matt Read to a four-year contract extension that takes effect at the start of the 2014-15 season.

The contract is worth $14.5 million, an average annual value of $3.625 million. Read is entering the final season of his entry-level contract, which will pay him $900,000 in 2013-14.

“We’re excited and happy we finally got it done,” general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. “He’s one of the young core players on our team. We’re happy to have him under contract for the next five years with this extension.”

Read signed with the Flyers as a free agent on March 24, 2011, after playing four seasons of college hockey at Bemidji State, where he had 43 goals and 108 points in 110 games.

The 27-year-old scored 24 goals and finished with 47 points in 79 games as a rookie in 2011-12. He scored 11 goals and finished with 24 points in 42 games last season.

“I’m very happy about it,” Read said of the extension. “My first two years have been very overwhelming for me. It’s still crazy to me to think I’m playing in the National Hockey League. So to sign my second contract with the Philadelphia Flyers is a dream come true. I couldn’t be happier with being with this organization, and I’m glad to be here for a couple more years.”

No. 5 will return to the Detroit Red Wings lineup for one night this season — well, the Red Wings’ alumni team lineup.

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who retired following the 2011-12 season, will play for the Red Wings team at the 2013 Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings Alumni Showdown on Dec. 31 at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, as part of the festivities surrounding the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

“I will be part of that game,” Lidstrom told the Red Wings’ website. “I’m really looking forward to the Winter Classic and being a part of something like that again, and to play with some of my former teammates when I played back in ’90s and early 2000s. It’ll be exciting. … I’m excited for the opportunity to play again.”

Lidstrom spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the Red Wings, the team that drafted him in the third round (No. 53) of the 1989 NHL Draft. He won seven Norris Trophies, tied for second all-time, and four Stanley Cups. He spent his final six seasons as team captain, and in 2008 became the only European-born and -trained player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup.

His 1,564 games are second in Red Wings history and 10th all-time in League history. His 1,142 points are fourth in team history, and the most among the club’s defensemen.

Lidstrom finished his career with 264 goals, 878 assists and a plus-450 rating, which ranks sixth all-time among NHL defensemen.

The Red Wings will retire his No. 5 during a pre-game on-ice ceremony prior to a game March 6, 2014, against the Colorado Avalanche.