On the Detroit Red Wings …
Aivis Kalnins: Have been hearing that Red Wings RFA forward Andreas Athanasiou has been attracting more KHL interest. Avtomobilist is another team that is looking at signing him.
Kevin Allen: (answering question) Red Wings GM Ken Holland hasn’t been fired yet as he’s had a long history of success, but he is feeling the heat now.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: Thomas Vanek‘s agent, Steve Bartlett, said that despite their salary cap issues the Detroit Red Wings are still in play.
“are still in the possibility range. I don’t know that I would say probability range, as we have increased interest around the league for Thomas.”
The Red Wings and Vanek’s camp have been in regular contact this offseason.
The Wings still need to re-sign RFA Andreas Athanasiou, but they can go over the salary cap during the offseason. Tomas Tatar, Luke Glendening, Ryan Sproul did have offseason surgery, and there is the chance they are not ready for the start of the season, and they could be placed on the LTIR. They could also make a trade or waive a player or two.
On the Vancouver Canucks …
Rob Williams of the Daily Hive: Rick Dhaliwal tweeted that Thomas Vanek’s agent told him that he’s talking with a few teams including the Vancouver Canucks.
Last week Trevor Linden was on the TSN 1040 and said that Canucks are not finished with free agency and confirmed that they have looked at Vanek.
Canucks GM Jim Benning was the Buffalo Sabres director of amateur scouting when the Sabres drafted Vanek 5th overall in the 2003 draft.
Vanek could be a nice ‘stopgap’ if some of their younger players are not NHL ready. They could sign him to a one-year deal and flip him at the trade deadline for a draft pick.