Detroit Red Wings: Martin Frk Will Not Get a Qualifying Offer
By Tyler Samson
Despite having a career-best season, Martin Frk will not receive a qualifying from the Detroit Red Wings.
Just as Detroit Red Wings fans were warming up to Martin Frk and his toothless grin, they will likely have to say goodbye. It was announced on June 19th that the Red Wings will not be giving a qualifying offer to Frk.
In order for the Wings to give a qualifying offer to him for the 2018-19 season, they would have to pay him at least $715,000 for one year. Not to mention it would require arbitration meetings. With all of these factors, the Red Wings felt it would be best to release Frk to unrestricted free agency.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
During the 2017-18 season, he got paid a fair amount of $650,000 for his contributions to the team. In 68 games, Frk registered 11 goals and tallied on 14 assists. Making the Red Wings roster for the 2017-18 season was no simple feat for him. It took a lot of clawing through the minor leagues to finally get his shot in the NHL.
After being drafted 49th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Red Wings, Frk spent his first professional season, 2013-14, with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL and Toledo Walleye in the ECHL. He split time between Toledo and Grand Rapids for the next two seasons until he was placed on waivers by the Wings and claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Frk’s time with the Hurricanes was short lived, only playing two NHL games before being released once again. The Red Wings claimed him off of waivers and placed him back in the AHL with the Griffins. In 65 games with the Griffins in 2016-17, Frk had 27 goals and 23 assists.
With the help of his offensive contributions, the Griffins won the Calder Cup that season. The Red Wings took notice to Frk’s improvement and gave him a promotion to join them for the 2017-18 season.
At 24 years of age, Frk is young and full of potential. For a rebuilding Red Wings team, it would only make sense to keep Frk around for at least the next season. Martin has shown time and time again that he can improve his game and adjust his role to whatever the team needs.
Next: Top 10 Toughest Red Wings of All-Time
The Wings re-signing Frk may not be out of the realm of possibility. In fact, the Wings could be releasing Frk only to sign him for cheaper and save themselves the headache of going to arbitration. But now the rest of the NHL has the chance to try to win him over.