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Talks Increase Between Red Wings, Athanasiou

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The final restricted free agent to be signed is Andreas Athanasiou, who has not been able to work out a deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Athanasiou has been skating in Switzerland to try and stay ready for the season should a deal be worked out, but there had been little discussion in recent weeks between the two sides.

That seems to be changing now, as Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that dialogue between Athanasiou’s agent Darren Ferris and the Red Wings has really increased in the last few days. McKenzie cautions that there is nothing imminent, and even suggests that Athanasiou could sign in Switzerland to start playing real games.

The Red Wings are actually off to a solid start to the year, going 4-2 in their first six games and scoring more than most expected. Some of that has to do with Mike Green’s impressive nine point performance in the early going, but the team has also leaned on younger players like Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin and Martin Frk. Should Athanasiou return quickly, perhaps the young guns in Detroit are better positioned to push this team close to a playoff spot than many believed before the season began.

Still, the Red Wings are in tough with the salary cap. According to CapFriendly, the team has used all of the space provided by Johan Franzen’s LTIR status and currently project to be over the cap by the end of the season. That means, in order to sign Athanasiou and bring him onto the active roster they’d need to make a corresponding move. If the reported $1.9MM (two years for $3.8MM in actuality) price tag is true, it’s a lot of room to move quickly. One option would be the much speculated Riley Sheahan, who comes in at just under $2.1MM, or sending at least two players down to the minor leagues. Detroit is already operating with just 22 players, one fewer than the maximum allowed for an NHL roster.

Andreas Athanasiou Heading To Switzerland

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Detroit Red Wings restricted free agent forward Andreas Athanasiou remains unsigned… for now. The latest news on the league’s last remaining RFA comes from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who shares that Athanasiou is on his way to Switzerland to skate with HC Lugano of the NLA. McKenzie was quick to add that Athanasiou has not signed Lugano and is still evaluating his options, but his commitment to going overseas for the time being raises more doubts that he will suit up in the NHL this season.

A recent poll revealed that most fans felt Athanasiou and former holdout Josh Anderson would each re-sign with their respective teams. The second most popular answer was that the pair would both play overseas. Anderson has done his part to prove true the majority, re-upping with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Athanasiou has not made any similar progress with Detroit and seems more likely to join in the dissenting opinion. Interestingly, it was Anderson who had been connected to the NLA this off-season, with Athanasiou reportedly fielding offers from the KHL. Athanasiou may still end up in Russia, but with an influx of talent heading to the NLA in recent years and the the past success of Lugano, who has not missed the playoffs in six years, the team is far from a poor fit. Athanasiou would be skating alongside former Red Wing Damien Brunner, as well as NHL veterans Maxim Lapierre and Bobby Sanguinetti should he sign with Lugano and the talented group could very well make a title run in 2017-18.

Still, the best thing for Athanasiou and for hockey is for the skilled 23-year-old to stay in North America. In just his second NHL season, the young center scored 18 goals and defied expectations for a Detroit team with few bright spots. The Red Wings may not want to overpay – in salary or term – for Athanasiou, who did have an unsustainable 15% shooting percentage in 2016-17 and is only in the early stages of developing a defensive game, but the best decision is always to work things out. Just ask the Dallas Stars, who missed the playoffs last season and had to go on a spending spree this summer in hopes of righting the ship. They would love to have Valeri Nichushkin back, the talented young winger who left the team in the summer of 2016 to head to the KHL, where he remains, after failing to come to terms in restricted free agency. Maybe the Red Wings would rather trade Athanasiou or maybe they’ll realize their mistake and work out a contract. Either way, there seems to be little upside to simply losing the scoring youth for this season (or longer). Athanasiou skating with Lugano may just be the straw that finally breaks Ken Holland’s back.

 

2017-18 Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come.  Today, we focus on the Detroit Red Wings.

Last Season: 33-36-13 record (79 points), seventh in Atlantic Division (missed playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $-3.02MM per CapFriendly—including Johan Franzen ($3.95MM), who will go on LTIR.

Key Additions: D Trevor Daley (free agency, Pittsburgh), F/D Luke Witkowski (free agency, Tampa Bay), F David Booth (PTO), F P.A. Parenteau (PTO)

Key Departures: F Drew Miller (free agency, unsigned), F Andreas Athanasiou (RFA, unsigned)

[Related: Detroit Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Anthony ManthaPlayer To Watch: F Anthony Mantha – Mantha is an enigma for many Red Wings fans. Despite having the size, strength and skating ability to be a dominant force in the league, he at times drifts into the background or disappears completely. His coaching staff has felt the same, moving him into the press box at times during his rookie campaign, and ultimately demanding more from him on a game-by-game basis.

This year will be a telling one. Mantha comes into the year after scoring 17 goals and 36 points in just 60 games, but even their distribution showed his inconsistency. Seven goals and fifteen points came in a 12-game span in the middle of the season, where he showed off just how forceful he can be with the right work ethic. He would score just 14 points in the remaining 32 games.

Now, with the Red Wings pivoting towards their youth and a sort of on-the-fly rebuild, Mantha must be better. At 23, the time is now for him to prove that he can be more than just a secondary scoring threat, and team up with other youngsters like Dylan Larkin to bring the next wave of Detroit success.

Key Storyline: Last year after the Red Wings fell out of contention, they did something they hadn’t done in some time. At the trade deadline, they moved Brendan Smith, Tomas Jurco and Thomas Vanek for future assets. That idea of selling mid-season is something almost entirely foreign to this generation of Red Wings fans, as the team hadn’t missed the playoffs since 1990.

Going into this season with a new arena and new hopes, the team will have to make a similar decision. If they aren’t competing for a playoff spot in early 2018, selling off some assets is a necessary next step. Though they’re expected to struggle once again, the team is over the cap and used some of their room to bring in a veteran Trevor Daley. That move seemed to show that they weren’t willing to go for a full rebuild, at least not yet.

While there is certainly upside in parts of their roster, players like Mike Green, Gustav Nyquist and Jimmy Howard are all unlikely to be around for the next great Red Wings team. Moving on from them whenever they can would help both the salary structure and the on-ice product down the line. Green especially will be a sought-after commodity at the trade deadline as he heads towards free agency, as the 31-year old can still provide offense from the back end. He has a full no-trade clause that would have to be worked around though, taking away some of the Red Wings’ leverage in trade talks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: The Fate Of The Remaining RFA’s

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Notable players have begun to be cut from training camps and placed on waivers as the season draws closer, under two weeks away now. Yet, two restricted free agents still have yet to even sign a new contract, nevertheless compete in camp. Columbus’ Josh Anderson and Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou still remain unsigned long after agreements were reached in more difficult RFA cases like those of David Pastrnak and Sam Bennett. Not only do the pair still not have contracts for the coming year, but seemingly no progress has been made recently either.

After it was reported more than a week ago that there was a “vast gap” in negotiations between Anderson and the Blue Jackets, a recent update stated that “no progress” had been made since then either. The newest piece of information has Anderson traveling to Switzerland, where he could potentially meet with several NLA teams. Anderson has also spoken about the possibility of starring for Team Canada at the Olympics. Anderson scored 17 goals for Columbus last year, which would be quite a lot of production for a team chasing a division title to lose.

Athanasiou is beyond overseas speculation; he has several hard offers on the table from KHL clubs. While “talks continue” between the two sides, there has been no concrete news for days. The “Riley Sheahan-to-Pittsburgh” rumor, that is supposedly contingent on an agreement with Athanasiou, has obviously not happened either, as it has been all quiet from both the Red Wings and their talented, young player. Athanasiou scored 29 points in 64 games for the struggling Wings last year. Can a team lacking much game-breaking talent afford to lose such a player?

There are a lot of different ways that this could all end up. Either or both could simply sign with their current teams, whether it be in the coming weeks or early in the season like several 2016 cases. Either one could be traded to a team with greater need and greater ability to sign them to a deal that comes closer to their desired term and salary. Or, the nuclear option, both have expressed and interest (read: threatened) in going overseas and could pull the trigger if their team will not sign or trade them. Take a crack at the poll below and sort through a variety of endings to these RFA sagas:

Snapshots: Sheahan, Robinson, Aaltonen

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, the venerable hockey insider touches on several different trade topics we’ve heard about over the last few weeks. The most interesting is perhaps one brewing between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings surrounding Riley Sheahan. Friedman seems to think the deal could be contingent on whether Detroit comes to terms with restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou, who is currently still holding out of training camp without a contract.

The Red Wings wouldn’t want to lose Athanasiou and Sheahan both, but if they wait much longer Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford might move on to one of his other two options. The Red Wings need to take advantage of trades when they can, even if moving Sheahan would weaken their center depth considerably.

  • Larry Robinson has been hired by the St. Louis Blues as a Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations. Robinson is a legendary hockey player and mind who has found success everywhere in the game. From a player, winning six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens to a coach, raising three more championships with the New Jersey Devils. Most recently, he has been an associate coach and director of player development with the San Jose Sharks, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their history.
  • Jonas Siegal of The Athletic penned an interesting piece on Toronto Maple Leafs’ new acquisition Miro Aaltonen, outlining his battle for a roster spot this season. Aaltonen was a free agent after the Anaheim Ducks—the team who originally drafted him—chose not to sign him in 2015, and apparently decided between the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights on where to start his North American career. It’s interesting that he chose Toronto, as he likely could have made the Vegas roster out of camp but will have a tough battle for the Maple Leafs. Part of that likely has to do with him signing way back in March, before Vegas even had a roster at all.

Will the Blues and Red Wings Keep Their GM After This Season?

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Pierre LeBrun, most recently of The Athletic, wrote yesterday about two potential veteran GMs in their final contract year: St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong and Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland. LeBrun implied that it is unusual for GMs to play out the final year of their deal without an extension if they plan to stay with the team.

The two GMs might have to dust off their resumes, but for two very different reasons. Armstrong has officially helmed the Blues since 2013, but unofficially ran things since 2010. And while Armstrong has led the Blues to six straight playoff appearances, the team has yet to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Pressure is mounting within the franchise as it is now 47 years since the Blues made the Finals. If Armstrong’s contract is not renewed, it will be because the organization feels Armstrong fails to make the final push.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ken Holland is on the hot seat after recent disappoints mar his winning history. Ascending to GM before the 1997-98 season, Holland has led the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup victories and four Finals appearances overall. More importantly, up until last season the Red Wings never failed to qualify for the playoffs. All that changed when the team went 33-36-13 and finished last in its division. To be fair, Holland will not lose his job for one disappointing season, but rather for failing to continually restock the organization after its core stars aged. It is not an easy task to replenish an organization when a team routinely drafts near the bottom, but the Red Wings may want new blood to kickstart a rebuild.

Both these GMs have impeccable pedigree, and neither will be without work for long—if at all. But both teams may want to move in a different direction after failing to accomplish short-terms goals in the past few seasons. Maybe both GMs sign extensions, but the Blues and Red Wings would have reason to move on if they do not.

Early Notes: Parros, Jets, Red Wings

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George Parros will the new voice at the top of the Department of Player Safety according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who reports that current head Stephane Quintal will be staying with the league but taking on different projects. Quintal will help Parros transition into the leadership role, which comes with its fair share of stressors.

Parros was known for his fists during his playing days, and continues what has been a trend for the DoPS; hiring those who played their career right on the edge of the rules. The Princeton grad will be the decision maker on many suspensions and fines next season, something that comes with incredible scrutiny. Friedman also mentions that newly retired Shane Doan has been considered as a replacement for Chris Pronger, who departed the DoPS for the Florida Panthers this offseason.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have indeed given extensions to both GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and coach Paul Maurice, both coming with multi-year terms. The pair will be in Winnipeg for the next several years, trying to take a franchise to the playoffs for just the third time in their history (Atlanta included). Cheveldayoff has done strong work in the draft room and getting players under contract, but he’ll have a huge offseason ahead of him next year. 19 players are restricted free agents including most of their forward group, and another five will be unrestricted. It could change the course of the franchise should he not be able to find a way to fit them all in.
  • Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) went all-in on the Detroit Red Wings and their ongoing negotiations with Andreas Athanasiou, explaining where each side is and how they’ve come to a point where the KHL is a legitimate option. He mentions how Sam Bennett’s recent contract could easily be a starting point for the Athanasiou camp, as the Detroit forward outscored his fellow Definitive Hockey client last season. The most interesting part of the whole piece is near the end, when Custance mentions that the Red Wings are in conversations on several trade fronts around the league. GM Ken Holland has admitted that if they’re to get through camp healthy, a move would likely be required to keep the Red Wings cap-compliant.

Agent: Athanasiou’s KHL And NHL Offers Very Different

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Ansar Khan of Mlive reports that still-unsigned RFA Andreas Athanasiou’s agent told Mlive that there is a “considerable difference in the amount of money” between offers from the Detroit Red Wings and KHL clubs. Athanasiou is coming off his ELC and looking for a significant raise.

Last season Athanasiou scored 18G and 11A in 64 games in just his second NHL season. The year before he potted 8G and 5A in 37 games, while splitting time with Detroit and its AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

Previous reports indicate that Athanasiou is considering signing in the KHL if he cannot obtain a satisfactory contract in the NHL, but some think the KHL threats are mere posturing. Red Wings GM Ken Holland said that the team has made multiple offers based on who the organization felt were comparable player contracts. Detroit also faces a cap crunch that makes things even more difficult. Right now the Red Wings exceed the salary cap by approximately $3MM, though will gain around $3.9MM once the season starts and the team places injured Johan Franzen on LTIR.

Which 2017 Draft Picks Will Make Their Teams?

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This year’s draft was notoriously thin in terms of elite talent, but that doesn’t mean that some of the top choices won’t make an impact. Of course, a lot will depend on training camp and whether players will return to Juniors, College, or overseas. Nico Hischier has already signed his entry-level contract with New Jersey, as has Nolan Patrick with Philadelphia. Both look primed to make their teams out of camp, even though Patrick will be recovering from an injury. It’s common for top picks to make their teams, and it would be shocking to see either fall short. Beyond these two, however, many of the top players till need seasoning.

The third pick, Miro Heiskanen, very well could return to the Finish Elite League for IFK, or theoretically be taken in the CHL import draft. Dallas doesn’t look like they’ll try to rush it with him, but anything is possible with this talented a player. Fourth overall was defenseman Cale Makar for Colorado, who is committed to play with the University of Massachussetts. Still, Colorado is hurting badly for skill and could benefit mightily from his dynamic presence on the blueline. Fifth overall was Elias Pettersson for Vancouver, who should return to Vaxjo of the SHL. He hasn’t signed an ELC and won’t attend training camp. Sixth overall Cody Glass looks primed to make a push for a spot in Vegas if he can show he belongs. The offense acquired via the expansion draft is very lean, and if Glass can round out his frame, the team may opt to toss him into the fire. He comes from a solid program with the Portland Winterhawks, and already surprised many with his ascension to first-round status in 2016-17.

Seventh overall was 5’11 center Lias Anderssson, who will fight for a position on the New York Rangers. In May, he signed a two-year contract with SHL’s Frolunda, so he might be one of the least likely of the group to see playing time in the near future. Casey Mittelstadt went eighth overall to Buffalo, and his phenomenal performance in the 2016 U-18 World Juniors played a large role in that. He only has USHL experience under his belt, however, and is committed to the Minnesota Gophers for the 2017-18 season. Michael Rasmussen is a towering, 6’6 center from Tri City of the WHL, and his overall physical package propelled him into that 9th selection by Detroit. Detroit is in need of cheap roster players on ELCs, but rushing a player of his caliber, especially coming off an injury-marred 2016-17 season, seems unlikely. GM Ken Holland is known for his patience when it comes to prospects. Rounding out the list, we have one of the few wingers selected in the first round – Owen Tippett of the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads. His 44 goals in 60 games caught the attention of Florida’s scouts, and he could make things interesting with a solid camp showing.

In the final evaluation, there are really only two sure-fire picks to make their teams in the 2017-18 season. Of course, there are players later in the order who could surprise and get a look as well. Gabriel Vilardi (11) would inject some much needed offense to a floundering Los Angeles squad, and already possesses NHL size. Nick Suzuki (13) could transcend Glass in Vegas as his flashy speed and exceptional passing are already pro-level. Future teammate Erik Brannstrom (15) proved again that he belongs in the conversation in the recent Summer Showcase. Timothy Liljegren (17) is already making Toronto fans salivate at his potential, and there is always someone unexpected who completely blows away the competition in camp. We shouldn’t see more than one or two surprises, but anything is possible once the players retake the ice in August for some internal competition.

In your mind, which 2017 draft picks make the NHL starting roster for their teams, excluding the obvious Hischier and Patrick? Will any of these names compete for a Calder, or will there only be one or two immediately successful rookies from this class? (For comparison’s sake, 4 players played regularly last season of all the players selected in 2016).

Please vote in our poll below!

Mobile users can vote here.

Detroit On Top Of NHL In No-Trade Clauses

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No trade clauses seem to have become the “in-thing” in negotiations as NTC’s are more prevalent than ever. Many general managers are forced to offer them to entice free agents to come to their teams. Other teams just give them to their top players to prove their loyalty to that player. For instance, the Tampa Bay Lightning have eight no-trade clauses on their roster, but that’s normal for a team that is expected to contend for a Stanley Cup.

However, what about the Detroit Red Wings. The struggling franchise is tied with Ottawa for a league-high 10 no-trade clauses on their roster for a team that’s already capped out with nothing to show for it but a roster of aging, overpriced veterans. The best option for Detroit and general manager Ken Holland, who handed out those no-trade clauses would be to trade off their veterans and start a massive rebuild. Can’t do that, according to Yahoo Sports Greg Wyshynski, who writes that Detroit is in a tough situation compared to other teams. One key to the way general managers use no-trade clauses is how they are utilized and with all of their no-trade clauses, the team will be hamstrung for many years.

Holland and the Red Wings have given full no-trade clauses to Justin Abdelkader, who has three more years of a no-trade clause before it becomes a modified trade clause, but the 30-year-old is locked up for another six years. Gustav Nyquist has a full no-trade clause for the two years remaining on his contract. Darren Helm also has a full no-trade clause through next season, although that can be voided beyond that if he fails to be among the team’s top-nine forwards or if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. However, again, he has a four-year deal. Four defensemen have full no-trade clauses, including Mike Green, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson and newly signed Trevor Daley. Other than Green, all of them possess full no-trade clauses for the next year, but eventually turn into modified no-trade clauses in 2018-19 or later. To make matters even more difficult, Detroit also has three players with modified no-trade clauses, including Frans Nielsen, Niklas Kronwall and goaltender Jimmy Howard, that will only make a rebuild more challenging for the Red Wings.

Perhaps the biggest problem, according to Wyshynski, is that seven of the 10 no-trade clauses are in the hands of players that are 30 or older and whether there was a need to give one this offseason to Daley, who many viewed as a questionable acquisition in the first place, let alone that they gave him a two years worth of a full no-trade clause to go with his three-year, $9.5MM contract at age 33.

While some no trade clauses are unavoidable and even necessary to get a player to sign on the dotted line, it’s critical to know when to offer one and when not to. Wyshynski uses the Minnesota Wild as an example of a team who has six no-trade clauses on their roster and used them wisely. They handed ones out to Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter, where they were critical in negotiations and are franchise-type players. They used one on veteran Eric Staal to convince him to come to Minnesota last year, which worked out quite well. Finally, defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Devan Dubnyk each received modified no-trade clauses, but again, both are key pieces to the team’s success. That’s how it should be done.

The question is, how long will it take for Detroit to recover from these long-term contracts with all these no-trade clauses in place. Of course, after the Daley deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Detroit has learned from its mistakes anyway.

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