According to Craig Custance of The Athletic, who has been all over this story from the beginning, the Detroit Red Wings have slightly increased their one-year $1.25MM offer for Andreas Athanasiou to try and entice a return to the team (though the new total is not clear). Detroit also has a two-year, $3.8MM contract on the table for the talented forward. Custance expertly outlines the situation for both sides, coming to the conclusion that Athanasiou will have to start playing somewhere soon.
Still, Detroit has problems when it comes to fitting Athanasiou into their salary structure. Even on the one-year deal, the team would need to make another move to slide his contract in as they’re already right up against the cap. The team is already carrying only 22 players on the roster to try and stay cap compliant, but would likely have to move someone out to put Athanasiou back in. Right now, Luke Witkowski is giving them a bit of versatility with his ability to play both forward and defense, but injuries could easily put them in a very difficult situation.
Detroit got off to a very strong start this season, but ran into red-hot Tampa Bay and Toronto teams this week to drop their record to 4-3. Those Atlantic division leaders will be tough to catch this season even with Athanasiou in the fold, but getting him back as soon as possible will give them the best chance. With Anthony Mantha and Henrik Zetterberg providing solid results up front, adding a top-9 forward will only help lengthen their lineup.