Detroit Red Wings and Andreas Athanasiou end awkward holdout

Andreas Athanasiou has ended one of the most bizarre contract holdouts in recent memory, signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings yesterday.

After what has seemed like a movie drama, forward Andreas Athanasiou is coming back to the Detroit Red Wings. The young forward and the Red Wings have ended the stalemate, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.387 million. Athanasiou brings a nice mix of youth, speed, and stickhandling ability to a team who is off to a surprisingly respectable start.

The Red Wings had themselves an interesting offseason, to say the least. Athanasiou was probably the weirdest part. General Manager Ken Holland initially offered the former fourth-round pick a two-year deal worth $1.9 million per season.

Not liking said offer, his agent claimed that the forward had been receiving offers from KHL teams and was seriously considering them. The validity of these statements is up to personal discretion, but one can’t fault an agent for trying to pinch a team.

Things only got more bizarre from there. A few weeks ago, Athanasiou hopped on a plane to Switzerland to begin skating with HC Lugano. Nothing like getting back at your ex by flying across the globe, right?

Now back in the fold, #72 will be looking to build his resume.

Athanasiou registered a very respectable 18 goals, 11 assists, 29 points last season on an abysmal Red Wings team. What stands out in his game is his speed and slick hands. A fan can go online and find beautiful highlights of the kid going coast to coast before topping things off with a nifty move. He definitely has some upside to grow his game given proper linemates and development.

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A big question that comes to mind is “How will Athanasiou look when he returns?” Yes, the forward has been skating in the Swiss league the past few weeks, but will he be in NHL-ready shape?

Athanasiou missed all of Detroit’s training camp, preseason, and the first seven games of the season. He will also need to wait a week or so for his immigration paperwork to be filed too before he can come back to the States.

Will he be in game shape? Can he hit the ground running and help his team? With roster moves likely ahead for Detroit, Athanasiou better be ready, because he’s getting thrown right into the mix.

Ken Holland made some questionable moves this summer. He brought in 34-year-old defenseman Trevor Daley and overpaid him with a $3.167 million deal. He nearly made Tomas Tatar walk to free agency in another contract holdout before signing him. Up against the cap, largely created by Holland’s misuse of term and dollar in his signings, Athanasiou’s deal is reasonable. However, the Red Wings aren’t out of the cap crunch yet. In order to fit their new acquisition’s contract, Holland will likely have to move two depth players.

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The mere fact it took this long to get Athanasiou signed is telling of how bad the Red Wings salary cap situation is. They have a lot of bad contracts, and a majority of them have some form of trade protection. For now, the Red Wings and Athanasiou are good. But they’ll have to do the same dance next summer.

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