Although the Red Wings aren’t shopping unsigned winger Andreas Athanasiou, they are listening to trade offers for him, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). However, they have set a high asking price for the 23-year-old as Custance notes that Detroit is seeking a top-four defenseman or a young center in return.
Athanasiou and the Red Wings continue to be far apart in contract talks in both one-year and two-year offers. With no resolution on the horizon, the winger has now flown to Switzerland to begin skating with HC Lugano of the NLA and while there is no contract in place to play yet, his presence over there will only fuel the trade speculation even further.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- With the report earlier in the week that the Senators and center Kyle Turris aren’t close on a contract extension and that a trade could be a possibility, Postmedia’s Don Brennan speculates that the report may have stemmed from a rival general manager as neither the team nor Turris benefits from this coming out this early. Turris is no stranger to a contract squabble having had a holdout with the Coyotes in the past but considering it’s only October, it’s far too early to call this situation another one. However, it’s likely that he will be looking for a long-term deal given the demand for centers out there so if Ottawa wants to keep him around, they may have to go more years than they’d prefer to.
- After acquiring goaltender Calvin Pickard on Friday, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston suggests that he’s not a candidate to stay as a third-string goaltender with the Maple Leafs for too long which could have Curtis McElhinney’s roster spot in jeopardy. Pickard is nine years younger and has a decent NHL track record despite playing on a subpar Colorado team so while McElhinney has a two-year contract in tow, that might not be enough to keep him on the roster and off the waiver wire once Pickard gets some games in at the AHL level.
Send AA to Vegas with a bad contract or 2 to get out of them.
Vegas only has around $5 mil in cap space and that’s with Shipachyov’s $4.5 cap hit in the AHL
Yeah but don’t they have guys to put on LTIR still
Athanasiou is quickly becoming over-rated by the media. He has the tools and potential but to this point, he has yet to really show any consistent production at the AHL or NHL level and even as a Junior player in the OHL, he didn’t exactly light the league on fire until his final year. It seems people are falling for the highlight reel goals, which admittedly were pretty good last year, but AA is far from being a star in the NHL.
Well said, Doc. AA has not proven himself & you cannot judge him over part of a season. He has a lot of potential, but prove it for a couple years before holding out & requesting a certain amount of money. But, with that said, Ken Holland has very little idea about how to run a team & less about how to deal with younger players. He favors the veterans as some of the outrageous contracts show. He has put the Red Wings in a bad spot & needs to go. The sooner the better.