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Red Wings Sign Austin Watson To A One-Year Extension

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March 6, 8:55 a.m.: Watson’s deal carries a $775K cap hit and NHL salary with a $375K minors salary, PuckPedia reports. The contract comes with a $400K guarantee.

March 5, 9:51 p.m.: The Red Wings are keeping one of their depth forwards around for a little while longer.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Austin Watson to a one-year, two-way contract extension.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 33-year-old earned a contract for this season via the PTO route after spending training camp with Detroit.  He did well enough to earn a one-year, two-way pact that pays $775K in the NHL and $200K in the minors.  However, it hasn’t earned him much NHL action this season as he has been limited to just two appearances with the big club, both coming back in October where he was held off the scoresheet in seven minutes of playing time per night.

Instead, Watson has spent the bulk of the campaign with AHL Grand Rapids, his first extended taste of action in the minors since the 2014-15 campaign when he was a prospect with Nashville.  In 51 games with the Griffins, he has 12 goals and 19 assists along with 91 penalty minutes.

In his career, Watson has 517 NHL appearances under his belt over parts of 11 seasons where he has 118 points, 707 penalty minutes, and 1,215 hits.  While he could have tested free agency again this summer and potentially changed organizations for the fourth straight year, he’ll now stay with the Red Wings where he’ll likely remain as a veteran option in Grand Rapids.

Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced a whopping trade a few days before the deadline. The full trade details are as follows:

  • Tampa Bay acquires F Yanni Gourde (50% retained by Seattle, 25% retained by Detroit), F Oliver Bjorkstrand, the signing rights to D Kyle Aucoin, and Seattle’s 2025 fifth-round pick
  • Seattle acquires F Michael Eyssimont, Tampa Bay’s 2026 first-round pick, Tampa Bay’s 2027 first-round pick, and Toronto’s 2025 second-round pick
  • Detroit acquires a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick (the highest selection between Tampa Bay or Edmonton’s 2025 fourth-round pick)

As a final note on the two first-round picks headed to Seattle, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that both are top-10 protected. If either of the picks are in the top-10, they slide back one year, theoretically meaning they could slide back to the 2028 or 2029 NHL Draft. If that happens to either draft selection, the Lightning will send a third-round pick to the Kraken for any year that it happens.

Tampa opened up some roster flexibility today after waiving forwards Cam Atkinson and Logan Brown on Tuesday, but the moves will only open $900K in cap space. We now know that the Lightning brought in the Detroit Red Wings as a third party for the deal, as they’ll help bring Gourde’s cap hit down to $1.29MM after retention.

Given the package returning to Seattle, this deal will inevitably have a downstream effect on the market. Although Bjorkstrand himself isn’t a rental, it’s a massive price to pay for two players projected to play in the Lightning’s middle-six. It’s a heavy price, but Tampa Bay is gambling that Gourde and Bjorkstrand will be more valuable than two draft picks later in the first round.

Still, aside from the price, it’s not easy to hypothesize better additions for the Lightning. Gourde returns to the organization where he won two Stanley Cup rings in 2020 and 2021 after a four-year hiatus in Washington state.

At the time of writing, Tampa Bay is 10th in the NHL with an 81.05% penalty kill and 18th with a team faceoff percentage of 50.32%. Furthermore, aside from the topical statistics, they are 16th in the NHL with a 50.5% CorsiFor% at even strength. Gourde is expected to help in all three areas.

He’ll carry a 50.8% faceoff rate and a 52.2% CorsiFor% at even strength into his first game back with the Lightning. The move will also allow Tampa Bay to move Nick Paul to the second line and give Gourde third-line minutes next to a combination of different wingers. Given the firepower at the top of Tampa Bay’s forward core, Gourde won’t be counted upon as much for offense, which could even help improve his play on the defensive side of the puck.

The deal’s benefits don’t end there for Tampa. If the Lightning believe Paul is better suited on the third line, Bjorkstrand can immediately step into the second line. Dating back to his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Bjorkstand can generally be relied upon for 20 goals and 30 to 40 assists a year. Bjorkstrand is only one year removed from the best offensive production of his career, scoring 20 goals and 59 points for the Kraken in 82 contests.

Similarly to Gourde, Bjorkstrand is a solid possession player, evidenced by his career CorsiFor% of 52.0% at even strength. Given that Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli have scored 30 and 20 goals already this season, respectively, Bjorkstrand will be an effective playmaker to put alongside them.

The only roster player headed to Seattle is Eyssimont. He’s spent the last three years as a bottom-six forward for the Lightning and is only one year removed from a career campaign himself. Eyssimont scored 11 goals and 25 points in 81 games for Tampa Bay last season, averaging 11:51 of ice time per game. Unfortunately, he hasn’t lived up to those standards this year, scoring five goals and 10 points in 51 contests, averaging 10:41 of ice time per game.

Meanwhile, the Kraken are on the horizon of complementing an already deep prospect pool. Seattle will have nine picks in the top 64 of the next three NHL Drafts alone. Should the Lightning continue winning, those first-round picks won’t fall till later. Still, it’s always better to have two picks in the first round rather than one.

The impact of this deal on the trade market cannot be overstated. Many have perceived that this year’s deadline has become a seller’s market, and this trade solidifies that notion. Clear-cut buyers such as the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets may have more difficulty improving their roster after this trade. Additionally, teams on the playoff bubble may have an easier time buying and selling before Friday’s deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Tampa Bay was working on acquiring Gourde and Bjorkstrand from Seattle. 

Friedman was the first to report that Seattle was acquiring two first-round picks in the deal. 

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report a majority of the trade details.

LeBrun was the first to report salary retention details and Detroit’s involvement.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article. 

Red Wings To Recall Carter Mazur

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The Red Wings are recalling left-wing prospect Carter Mazur from AHL Grand Rapids, per Max Bultman of The Athletic. The 22-year-old will be making his NHL debut if he plays tomorrow against Utah. Detroit opened up a roster spot last night by reassigning veteran forward Sheldon Dries to Grand Rapids, per the league’s transactions log.

Mazur has become one of the more unheralded prospects in the Red Wings’ pipeline. Detroit selected Mazur with the 70th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, just before he began his NCAA career with the University of Denver Pioneers.

He became an effective scorer with the Pios, scoring 36 goals and 75 points in 81 collegiate contests. Additionally, Mazur was rostered on the 2022 National Championship-winning roster, tallying two assists in the championship matchup against Minnesota State.

The Red Wings signed Mazur to his entry-level contract after the 2022-23 NCAA season, and he finished the year with three goals and three assists in six games for Grand Rapids. He continued impressing through his first full season in the AHL, scoring 17 goals and 37 points in 60 games for the Griffins, finishing second on the team in scoring.

Entering the 2024-25 season, there was an outside chance Mazur could crack Detroit’s roster out of training camp. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to break into a saturated Red Wings’ forward core, and he was sent to the Griffins just a few days before the start of the regular season. Injuries have limited Mazur to 20 AHL contests this season, but his scoring efficiency has only improved with seven goals and 15 points.

Given that the Red Wings are fully engaged in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, this shouldn’t be considered an informal tryout with Detroit. The Red Wings hope Mazur’s high motor and offensive talent will translate to the NHL to help them break an eight-year playoff drought.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article. 

Waivers: 3/5/25

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Four players hit the waiver wire on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

F Christian Fischer (Red Wings) – Fischer, 27, has slipped down Detroit’s depth chart as the season’s progressed. He’s been a healthy scratch in four of their last eight games. His 11:09 ATOI is his lowest in five years, as are his 0.16 points per game (1-6–7 in 45 GP). On an expiring deal worth $1.125MM, he’ll cost $100K against the cap for Detroit if he clears and is sent to the minors. It’s unclear if it’s purely a performance-based demotion or if they’re waiving him to open up roster flexibility ahead of the deadline – likely a bit of both.

D Jordan Oesterle (Bruins) – Oesterle’s waiver placement comes after the 32-year-old scored his first goal since December 2022 in yesterday’s loss to the Predators. He’d been a healthy scratch in 10 straight games before re-entering the lineup for Ian Mitchell. The veteran depth piece has served as a bottom-pairing/depth option for a good chunk of the season with Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy missing significant time on the Boston blue line. He’s been rostered since late November, so today’s waiver placement is likely an effort to get him assigned to AHL Providence on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

F Jesse Puljujärvi (Panthers) – Puljujärvi signed a tryout with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte last month after having his deal with the Penguins mutually terminated. Today’s waiver placement indicates he’s landed an NHL deal with the Panthers for the rest of the season. If he clears waivers and returns to Charlotte, he’ll now be a recall option down the stretch. It’s a two-way, league-minimum deal for the 2016 No. 4 overall pick, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. He has three assists in seven games with Charlotte after posting 3-6–9 in 26 showings with Pittsburgh earlier this season.

F Jakub Vrána (Capitals) – Vrána won’t necessarily be reassigned to AHL Hershey if he clears, at least not immediately. They’ll have a 30-day window to send him to the minors waiver-free to aid in salary cap flexibility around deadline moves, AP’s Stephen Whyno reports. Regardless, it’s been a tough year for the 29-year-old. He landed a PTO with Washington in camp and converted that into an NHL contract for his second stint with the Caps, who drafted him 13th overall in 2014. He’s been reasonably productive when dressed, posting 7-4–11 in 26 games despite seeing just 9:50 of ice time per game, but hasn’t found a regular role in Washington’s league-best offense. He’s suited up just three times since New Year’s, sitting almost exclusively as a healthy scratch. He’s on a one-way deal for 2024-25 worth the minimum $775K.

Red Wings’ Andrew Copp Out For Season

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The Red Wings announced this morning that center Andrew Copp underwent surgery to repair his left pectoral tendon and will miss the remainder of the season. He’ll miss four to six months as a result, meaning he should be ready for training camp in the fall.

Copp landed on injured reserve yesterday and was replaced on the roster by veteran AHL call-up Sheldon Dries. The latter will serve as Detroit’s extra forward while Michael Rasmussen nurses an upper-body injury. At the same time, J.T. Compher will continue to see a bump in minutes centering Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, as he did in Sunday’s overtime win over the Ducks without Copp.

The loss of Copp is a significant but not season-ending blow for the Wings, who are currently in position to end their eight-season playoff drought. They aren’t carrying any other long-term injuries among their forward corps. While the 30-year-old has been a strong depth piece for Detroit, ranking sixth on the team in scoring with 10-13–23 through 56 games, he’s averaged under 15 minutes per game and won’t be overwhelmingly complicated to replace internally.

His unavailability likely shifts general manager Steve Yzerman’s trade deadline plans somewhat, though. Detroit probably won’t need to move Copp to long-term injured reserve ahead of March 7 – they can currently add up to $13.65MM in cap hits as things stand, per PuckPedia. But while acquiring a top-four defenseman was and likely still is Yzerman’s top priority, Copp’s absence does bump the acquisition of a rental center up his wish list. The only big-ticket option on the rental market is the Islanders’ Brock Nelson, but they won’t be moving him – especially to a conference rival – if they’re still in competition for one of the East wild-card spots in 10 days. Lesser rental options (and more suited for a middle-six role) include Chicago’s Ryan Donato, Montreal’s Jake Evans, Boston’s Trent Frederic, and Seattle’s Yanni Gourde. The most expensive among that group is Gourde, who costs a shade over $5.1MM, still leaving them with plenty of flexibility to add on defense.

Of course, Copp’s injury could also increase Yzerman’s urgency to add a younger center with term. It’s something he’s been weighing for most of the season, namely in connection to the Sabres’ Dylan Cozens. But Buffalo, looking to end their own playoff drought next season, likely won’t risk moving the high-ceiling pivot to a division rival.

Copp arrived in Detroit in the 2022 offseason, inking a five-year, $28.125MM contract in free agency. He’s in the third year of that deal, which carries a cap hit of $5.625MM. It’s largely been an overpay, as he’s produced much closer to his career-average 82-game pace of 13 goals and 35 points in Detroit than his platform year of 21 goals and 53 points between the Jets and Rangers. His ice time this season was its lowest in six years, although his possession metrics (46.7 CF%, -1.9 expected rating at even strength) responded well to the decrease in usage.

Anaheim Ducks Acquire Ville Husso From Detroit Red Wings

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The Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings have connected on a goaltending trade. Both teams have announced that the Ducks have acquired netminder Ville Husso from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations. Anaheim confirmed that Husso will report to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

Although netminder John Gibson had recently succumbed to an upper-body injury, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that wasn’t Anaheim’s motivation for the trade. Gibson’s recovery timeline is still considered day-to-day with no reports indicating otherwise.

It appears Husso will remain in the same role as he had with Detroit this season. The former seventh-place finisher in Vezina Trophy voting (2021-22) has been deployed as a third-string option for the Red Wings this year albeit an expensive one.

That’s likely behind Detroit’s motivation for the trade. Although Husso is only owed around $1.3MM in actual salary for the remainder of the regular season, the move clears approximately $3.5MM from the Red Wings’ salary cap table giving them plenty of flexibility for next Friday’s trade deadline should they look to acquire additional talent.

Despite opening up a decent chunk of cap space, this couldn’t have been the future general manager Steve Yzerman sought for Husso when he acquired the netminder from the St. Louis Blues for a third-round pick in 2022. The year before donning the winged wheel for the first time, Husso posted a 25-7-6 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.56 goals-against average in 38 starts for St. Louis.

Largely due to a poorer defense in front of him after he transitioned to the Red Wings, Husso failed to replicate his stellar play from the 2021-22 campaign. Throughout two and a half seasons in Detroit, Husso will finish his Red Wings tenure with a 36-32-11 record in 82 starts with a .892 SV%, 3.26 GAA, and a horrid -25.6 goals saved above average according to Hockey Reference.

Yzerman lost faith in Husso before this season, sending the Finnish netminder through waivers in early October. In his first multi-game stay in the AHL, Husso has managed an 8-4-0 record in 13 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, along with a .912 SV% and 2.70 GAA.

He’ll join a tandem in San Diego who could use serious improvement. The combination of Oscar Dansk and Calle Clang has given the Gulls an average of .885 SV% and 3.46 GAA, and the latter is expected to be out with a longer-term injury. Should Husso continue the solid play he displayed with the Griffins this season, San Diego may have a fighting chance at playoff positioning down the stretch.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the trade.

Ducks’ Trevor Zegras Suspended Three Games

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The league’s Department of Player Safety announced today they’ve suspended Ducks center Trevor Zegras for three games for interference against Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen. Zegras will remain on Anaheim’s active roster while serving the suspension and can return to the lineup on March 4 against the Oilers.

It’s the first suspension of Zegras’ five-year, 245-game career and the second incident that required any sort of supplemental discipline. He was fined $1.5K back in November 2022 for slashing then-Sharks defenseman Matt Benning.

This infraction, however, was far more egregious. The incident occurred late in the second period of last night’s overtime loss, during which Zegras laid a late hit that he left his feet to deliver, forcing his shoulder into Rasmussen’s head. Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said Rasmussen has since been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and isn’t traveling with the team for their game against the Wild tomorrow. On-ice officials failed to assess a penalty to Zegras on the play.

The most pertinent part of the league’s video explanation is transcribed here:

Players who are not in possession of the puck are never eligible to be checked. However, the intereference rule provides a brief window where the player who initiates the check while his opponent is in possession of the puck may finish the hit. This is not such a play. Here, Zegras begins his hitting motion after Zegras releases the puck, and contact is made outside the window where a check may be legally finished. In addition to the lateness, what causes this hit to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the significant head contact on this play combined with the force. 

It’s hard to disagree with DoPS’ description of the play, although a three-game ban could be seen as steep for a first-time offender. It comes amid another injury-plagued and difficult offensive season for the 23-year-old, who has 7-9–16 through 34 games – a 17-goal, 39-point pace over 82 games. That’s a far cry from the back-to-back 60-point campaigns he put up leading into the 2023 offseason when he landed a three-year, $17.25MM deal after months on the RFA market. So far, it’s been a prudent move from general manager Pat Verbeek to hold out for a lower cap hit than expected for a player who finished second in Calder Trophy voting in 2022.

Zegras has looked better since returning from right knee surgery last month. Since coming off injured reserve, he has six points in 10 games, an even rating, and an average ice time of 17:15 per night. It’s not world-beating, but certainly a step in the right direction for the 6’0″ center, who again finds himself in trade rumors ahead of the March 7 deadline.

Without Zegras, Anaheim doesn’t have a healthy extra forward for tomorrow’s road game in Buffalo. They don’t have an open roster spot and would need to make a corresponding transaction to get one up from AHL San Diego.

Red Wings Place Andrew Copp On IR, Sheldon Dries Recalled

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The Detroit Red Wings have placed center Andrew Copp on Injured Reserve and recalled center Sheldon Dries from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. The moves come as Detroit tries to deal with multiple injuries that have surfaced throughout the weekend.

Copp suffered an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s loss to the Minnesota Wild and will have to miss at least the next seven days. He will not dress for three games, including the Stadium Series game slated for this Saturday. Copp missed yesterday’s overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks and will be eligible to return to the lineup on March 4th against the Carolina Hurricanes. The injury may be shoulder-related as he skated away from a scrum in the Wild game favoring it, however, there is no official confirmation on this.

Copp has dressed in 56 games this season, registering 10 goals and 13 assists while averaging 14:42 of ice time per game, his offensive production is nowhere near in line with his $5.625MM cap hit, however, he does bring a defensive presence to the Red Wings forward group that they missed against the Wild, blowing a lead in that game after Copp’s exit before eventually losing in overtime.

Dries has been a decent offensive depth option in the AHL this season, posting 19 goals and eight assists in 48 games. The 30-year-old hasn’t seen NHL action since April 2023 with the Vancouver Canucks but does have 122 NHL career games on his resume. Dries is having a down year offensively with Grand Rapids after tallying 114 points in 109 games over the past two seasons with the Abbotsford Canucks but hasn’t been able to gain as much traction this year in a new organization.

The Macomb, Michigan native will likely serve as insurance at this point given that Detroit just reinserted Tyler Motte into the lineup and still has Christian Fischer as an option.

Andrew Copp Left Today's Game With Injury

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  • Before the Detroit Red Wings let a third-period two-goal lead collapse to the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, they lost one of their forwards to an apparent injury. After Alex DeBrincat landed a massive hit on Wild defenseman Brock Faber, center Andrew Copp joined the ensuing scrum. The altercation didn’t last long for Copp as he immediately fell to the ice and grabbed at his left shoulder. Copp finished the game with one assist in 10:20 of action.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Detroit Red Wings Recall Marco Kasper, Elmer Söderblom

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Although a formal announcement never came from the team, the Detroit Red Wings reassigned youngsters Marco Kasper and Elmer Söderblom to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, before the 4 Nations Face-Off break for cap-related reasons. As expected, the AHL transactions site confirms Kasper and Söderblom have been returned to the NHL roster.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Kasper during his first full year in the NHL. The Innsbruck, Austria native only mustered two goals and seven points through the first 35 games with an -11 rating averaging 14:06 of ice time per night. His possession metrics were uniquely good (approximately 50.0% CorsiFor% at even strength) for a poor possession team like Detroit, however, his 3.8% shooting percentage had many wondering if he should return to AHL Grand Rapids to continue developing.

New head coach Todd McLellan moved Kasper to the first line in early January and the former eighth overall pick has run with the opportunity. He’s scored seven goals and 13 points in his last 15 games for Detroit playing next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond with his shooting percentage jumping off the page at 23.3% in that stretch. Kasper has inarguably benefited from being next to the Red Wings’ top two forwards but his newfound confidence could prove a boon to his overall development.

Söderblom has primarily been relegated to AHL minutes this season having received his call-up in mid-January. The physically imposing 6’8″, 246lbs Sweden has added more size and offense to the Red Wings bottom-six throughout the call-up with two goals, three assists, and 20 hits in nine games.

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