The Red Wings are bringing back a pair of veterans, announcing (Twitter links) that they’ve re-signed Sam Gagner and Calvin Pickard to one-year contracts. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Gagner’s deal is for $850K.
The 31-year-old Gagner was acquired by Detroit back at the 2019 trade deadline for salary matching purposes in the trade that brought Andreas Athanasiou to Edmonton. He did well enough in his brief stint with the Red Wings to earn a one-year deal last summer, albeit at a significant pay cut as he went from a $3.15MM AAV to just $850K in the process. He played in 42 games with Detroit last season, notching seven goals and eight assists and should once again fill a depth role.
As for Pickard, he spent most of the year on Detroit’s taxi squad as their third-string option. He wound up getting in just six games with the Red Wings, posting a 3.16 GAA with a .874 SV% while suiting up only three times with AHL Grand Rapids. He’ll be expected to play much more with the Griffins next season with Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss comprising Detroit’s goaltending tandem with the 29-year-old Pickard serving as veteran depth once again.
CALVIN PICKARD
I’VE BROUGHT DOWN BIGGER MEN THAN YOU, PICKARD!