(Re-Sign Phase)
25TH June – 30th June 2019,
Players Released:
LW Jussi Jokinen 77ovr
RW Luke Witkowski 76ovr
D Adam Almqvist 66ovr
G Patrik Rybar 25 57ovr
C Zach Gallant 59ovr - Unsigned Rookie
C Brady Gilmore 58ovr - Unsigned Rookie
D Malte Setkov 20yrs 59ovr - Unsigned Rookie
D Reilly Webb 20yrs 59ovr - Unsigned Rookie
D Cole Fraser 19yrs 58ovr - Unsigned Rookie
For Jokinen, this was strictly a 1 year deal, if he were to remain in the Red Wings organisation, he’d be in the AHL at best. Our younger skaters need more ice time.
Luke Witkowski surprisingly did not want to re-sign, he was quite usable in defense for most of last season. He may have been another player with further limited ice time to make way for younger skaters. Probably best he moved on.
Players Re-signed:
D Niklas Kronwall 38yrs (81ovr Exact Top6D) – 1way contract - 1yr @ $4.5M per yr
D Nick Jensen 28yrs (78ovr Exact 7thD) – 1way contract - 2yrs @ $1.350M per yr
G Harri Sateri 29yrs (77ovr Exact Backup) – 1way contract - 2yrs @ $1.7M
D Dylan McIlrath 27yrs (74ovr Exact 7thD) - 2way contract - 2yrs @ $0.875M per yr
With a number of 2way contracts sorted prior to the season end, plus a few guys released, we only had 4 contracts that needed attention prior to Free Agency opening. We signed Kronwall for one more year. He wanted 2 years but given his age, I am only prepared to work on a year-to-year basis.
RFA - Qualified Tenders:
We have qualified tenders for the following Restricted Agents. All are yet to re-sign with the team.
LW Evgeny Svechnikov 22yrs (76ovr Med Top6F) - RFA
C Dominic Turgeon 23 yrs (75ovr Med Top9F) - RFA
D - Christopher Bigras 24yrs (74ovr Med Top6D) - RFA
LW - Kalle Kossila 26yrs (74ovr Med Top6F) - RFA
D - Joe Hicketts 23yrs (73ovr Med Top6D) - RFA
LW Dylan Sadowy 23yrs (63ovr Med Bottom6F) - RFA
Entry Level Contracts Signed:
C Kirby Dach - 18yrs (???ovr 75%Med Elite) - Signed Entry level contract - 3yrs @ $0.925M
D Jared McIsaac - 19yrs (71ovr Med Top4D) - Signed Entry level contract - 3yrs @ $0.925M
RW Lane Zablocki - 20yrs (63ovr Med Top9F) - Signed Entry level contract - 3yrs @ $0.925M
This years 8th pick, Kirby Dach is signed, I will wait & see what ratings that come through for a couple of the other selections, from this years draft, however the season will have likely begun by then.
We handed an entry level contract to Defenseman, Jared McIsaac, a 2nd Round pick from 2018, who has developed well last season in Canada. He should get a lot of ice time with the Griffins if he doesn’t go back to the CHL.
Up Next: Free Agency Period