Robert Mastrosimone Enters Transfer Portal
If Detroit Red Wings fans were hoping to sign Robert Mastrosimone to an entry-level contract this spring after his junior season at Boston University, it looks like they will be disappointed. According to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, Mastrosimone has entered the transfer portal and will change schools.
Importantly, Mastrosimone’s rights are only held by the Red Wings through August 15, 2023. At that point he could become an unrestricted free agent and sign anywhere in the league. Originally selected 54th overall by the Red Wings in 2019, he has spent the last three seasons at BU, including putting up 25 points in 34 games this season.
The school recently fired head coach Albie O’Connell after a dreadful season and will now lose one of their best players. Mastrosimone was third on the team in scoring and was one of the few pure goal-scorers in the group. His departure may leave room for players like Montreal Canadiens draft pick Luke Tuch to step up, though it certainly won’t improve the overall depth of the program.
For Mastrosimone in particular, a transfer to a program with its sights set on a National Championship certainly could improve his stock if he’s looking to become a UFA next summer or even if he’s still committed to Detroit. Of note is that he will not have to sit out a year like under old transfer rules; Mastrosimone is allowed to transfer once and still be eligible to play the following season.
Sam Gagner Hopes To Stay With The Detroit Red Wings
In a conversation with Ansar Khan of Michigan Live, Sam Gagner made clear his desire to stay with the Detroit Red Wings, hoping to win with them long-term. Gagner discussed how much he has enjoyed his time with Detroit and being able to settle in with a team, as well as a defined role, and his belief that the Red Wings could soon become a winner, which he wants to be a part of.
As much of a glowing review as Gagner had of playing for Detroit, Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill had for Gagner, praising his leadership during tough times for the Red Wings the past couple of seasons and his ability to play in key defensive situations, including the penalty kill. Much like Gagner himself, Blashill also made clear that he would like to see the veteran stay with Detroit.
Should Gagner remain with Detroit after this season, he would presumably remain in his role as a bottom-six defensive forward who can chip in depth scoring and be a leader and role-model for the incredibly young Red Wings roster. This season, Gagner has 12 goals and 16 assists in 71 games for Detroit, playing on a one year, $850K contract. If Gagner were to re-sign, one could reasonably expect a slight raise on that salary, rewarding Gagner for his all around impact on the team, all the more reasonable considering Detroit’s cap flexibility now and in the future, with only $42.7MM committed in salary next season.
Some might wonder why Detroit would keep a veteran like Gagner around, seeing him as merely a player filling a spot that could go to a young, developing player. However, players like Gagner can be incredibly valuable in helping develop the young players around him, not only helping them on the ice, but also guiding them as professionals off the ice, helping to manage the rather interesting lifestyle of being a professional athlete that most players have never experienced before. Though a bit more central to his teams plans at that point, consider the role Patrick Marleau played for a young Toronto Maple Leafs team, helping players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner develop as professionals, especially in the year prior to John Tavares‘s arrival.
As Gagner himself mentioned to Khan, the Red Wings could see themselves as a team pushing for a playoff spot in the near future, perhaps as soon as next year. A veteran role-player like Gagner can be just as valuable to a team and more so to a team with little playoff experience like the current Red Wings roster. Players like Corey Perry and Pat Maroon have factored heavily into deep playoff runs, Maroon winning three straight Stanley Cups between two teams. One could also look at the New York Islanders’ acquisitions of Andy Greene in 2020 and Travis Zajac in 2021 as proof of veteran depth paying dividends.
Of course, there is no contract yet, and as it appears, no talks have happened either, but bringing back the veteran center could pay off more for Detroit than one would expect. At 32 years old and five years removed from a career best 50 point season, the former top prospect is also far from retirement age and still has plenty to give. A look to players like Perry, Maroon, Zajac, Greene, or even Marleau shows that Gagner still has a very in-demand role and this young, up-and-coming Red Wings team could very well use a player to fill that role, as they already have with Gagner.
Jake Walman Out With Upper Body Injury
- From Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, defenseman Jake Walman is out of the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets with an upper-body injury (link). Walman has been a reliable defenseman for both the Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues this season, coming to Detroit from St. Louis in the Nick Leddy trade back in March. No timetable for Walman’s return has been made available yet.
Pontus Andreasson, Filip Roos Linked To NHL
Two more undrafted free agents could soon be coming to North America, as Aftonbladet.se reports that Pontus Andreasson and Filip Roos have both agreed to entry-level contracts with NHL clubs. The Swedish news outlet notes that Andreasson has agreed to a deal with the Detroit Red Wings, while Roos is in agreement with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Andreasson, 23, has exploded onto the SHL scene this season, scoring 18 goals and 38 points in 52 games with Lulea HF. It’s his first season at the highest level after spending the last two in the Allsvenskan, and it seems as though it’s been enough to draw the interest of an NHL team. Undrafted, Andreasson’s development has been relatively unnoticed, given he was never involved in any international play at any level. An entry-level contract would be limited to just one year, as he turns 24 in August.
Roos, meanwhile, would be signing a two-year deal as he only turned 23 a few months ago. He too has burst onto the SHL scene after two years in the Allsvenskan and is playing regular minutes for Skelleftea AIK. The 6’3″ defenseman had only eight points in 50 regular season games, but did show a little more scoring upside last season at the lower level, when he racked up 28 points in 52 games. Similarly overlooked when it comes to international competition, Roos is also an undrafted prospect has been relatively under the radar to this point.
The SHL quarter-finals get underway tomorrow, meaning contracts for both players would have to wait until after their team is eliminated or win the championship.
Red Wings Recall Kyle Criscuolo
- The Red Wings announced the recall of center Kyle Criscuolo from Grand Rapids of the AHL. The 29-year-old has played in 49 games with the Griffins this season, picking up 32 points. With Detroit playing in Ottawa on Sunday, Tyler Bertuzzi will be ineligible to play while Dylan Larkin is day-to-day with a minor injury so Criscuolo will serve as some insurance to make sure they can dress 12 forwards for that game.
AHL Playoff Push Could Prevent Berggren From Making NHL Debut This Season
- While Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren has impressed in his first season in North America, there appears to be some hesitance in bringing him up for the stretch run. As Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press points out, Detroit’s farm team in Grand Rapids is still battling for a playoff spot in the minors and it appears the organization may be prioritizing that as being more valuable than a handful of NHL games to finish off this season. The 21-year-old sits second on the Griffins in scoring with 44 points in 57 games.
Dallas Stars Acquire Vladislav Namestnikov
The Dallas Stars acquired forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the Detroit Red Wings today in exchange for a fourth-round pick, per ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.
In terms of underrated additions, Namestnikov joining the Stars might rank among the best of the day. The veteran forward appears to be a perfect fit for the Dallas roster, adding some good defensive impact along with a bit of offensive production. In 60 games this season he’s scored 13 goals and 25 points, a total that would actually put him seventh among forwards for the Stars, right about where he’ll likely fit into the lineup. More effective than say, Alexander Radulov, who has been a frustratingly inconsistent part of the Dallas roster all season, Namestnikov also has the ability to play both center and wing, meaning he could end up moving around quite a bit.
The fact that he cost just a fourth-round pick makes it a low-risk move for the Stars, who are focused on making the playoffs. The team decided not to move some of their own high profile players–including John Klingberg–bringing in Nametnikov and depth goaltender Scott Wedgewood in separate deals instead. While that may not move the needle very much, it also doesn’t sacrifice a huge number of future assets in a year where even qualifying for the postseason is no sure thing.
On Detroit’s end, getting a draft pick out of Namestnikov is likely exactly the outcome that was discussed when they signed him to a two-year, $4MM deal in October 2020. Now 29, there was always little chance that the veteran forward would be around when the Red Wings were really competitive, and this move just adds another pick to the pile.
St. Louis Blues To Acquire Nick Leddy
The St. Louis Blues have made their defensive addition, acquiring Nick Leddy from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman and a second-round pick in 2023. The Blues will also receive Luke Witkowski in the deal, giving them some more depth (at multiple positions, even). Lou Korac of NHL.com reports that the Red Wings will be retaining 50 percent of Leddy’s remaining contract.
Leddy, who turned 31 yesterday, is still one of the strongest skating defensemen in the league and can fit into a Blues team that has their eyes set on another Stanley Cup. After a career spent entirely in Chicago and New York, Leddy came to Detroit in an offseason trade that cost just Richard Panik–a contract the team didn’t want anyway–and a second-round pick.
After a few months with the Red Wings, he’ll bring back even more than that, as both Sundqvist and Walman project as potential NHL options for Detroit. There’s even potential for him to return to them anyway as a free agent, as Leddy is currently scheduled to hit the open market this summer. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic tweets that there have not yet been any extension discussions between the Blues and Leddy, meaning this could just be a pure rental for the last part of the season.
Getting back players that can contribute right away is key for a Red Wings team that hopes to contend for a playoff spot next season. In Sundqvist, they’re getting a 27-year-old forward that carries a cap hit of $2.75MM through the 2022-23 season. While he still hasn’t turned into much of an offensive player, the 6’3″ forward is a physical force that can fit into a few different spots in the bottom of the lineup. In Detroit, the team can perhaps even squeeze more offense out of him, as the Blues did when he scored 14 goals and 31 points in 2018-19.
Walman too could get a much bigger chance in Detroit, who have now moved out a pair of defensemen following Troy Stecher‘s deal yesterday. The 26-year-old has played just 57 games in his NHL career to this point and will be a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer if he fails to play in enough games down the stretch. He’ll likely enter the lineup on a regular basis to avoid that, at which point he’ll be an arbitration-eligible RFA in the offseason.
This has turned into a clear strategy for Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, acquiring underutilized players for expiring assets. In fact, he might even end up flipping Sundqvist or Walman at some point as the team continues to build for the future.
But even though those players are tough to lose, the Blues are getting their big addition on defense ahead of a Stanley Cup push. Leddy can slot into the lineup and help take some of the pressure off of players like Marco Scandella who has struggled to maintain his previous level. The fact that he has over 120 games of playoff experience and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 only adds to his appeal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Tyler Bertuzzi Hoping To Remain With Detroit
While Red Wings winger Tyler Bertuzzi has been in some trade speculation as of late, he told reporters including MLive’s Ansar Khan that his desire is to stay with Detroit, the team that drafted him back in the second round in 2013. The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal with a $4.75MM AAV and will become an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason. He sits second on the team in scoring this season with 49 points in 51 games which means GM Steve Yzerman would be placing a very high price tag if a contender wants to take a run at adding Bertuzzi today.
Los Angeles Kings Acquire Troy Stecher
The Los Angeles Kings have been shopping for a defenseman and were linked to a number of major targets. However, with the likes of Hampus Lindholm, Ben Chiarot, and Mark Giordano now off the table and Jakob Chychrun looking increasingly unlikely to be dealt before the deadline, L.A. has decided to go bargain hunting. The Detroit Red Wings have announced that they have traded defenseman Troy Stecher to the Kings in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick. Los Angeles has confirmed the deal as well.
Now, adding Stecher does not remove the Kings from making further deadline additions on the back end, particularly when it comes to long-term pieces like Chychrun. Though just 27 years old and still carrying some name recognition from when he was an up-and-coming blue liner with the Vancouver Canucks, Stecher is merely a rental depth option for the Kings. Stecher has only played in 16 games with Detroit this season, with two points and a career-low 15:08 averaget time on ice. He is now longer the player he was once expected to become and is just an extra option on defense in L.A., hence the low cost of a last-round pick.
With that being said, defensive depth is still highly valuable to the Kings. The club has been inundated with injuries of late, with top-four defenders Drew Doughty, Matt Roy, and Michael Anderson all sidelined, not to mention Sean Walker out for the year. The team has been fortunate enough to get Alex Edler back in the lineup after a long-term absence, but they still have five rookie or sophomore defensemen on the roster right now. Stecher brings some much-needed experience and veteran ability to the team to help with this short-term injury bug and could play himself into a regular role even once the team is back at full strength. Stecher and Edler are familiar having played together in Vancouver and it will be interesting to see if they are paired once again in L.A. and if that could be a stable, successful partnership.