Derek Meech Clears Waivers, Will Report To Training Camp

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland couldn’t trade Derek Meech this offseason. After a day on waivers, he couldn’t give him away either.

Nobody took the opportunity to snatch Meech off the waiver wire, meaning the press box mainstay will report to training camp in Traverse City. Holland is still holding out some hope for the young defenseman’s future though:

He’ll probably be sent to the minors once the season gets underway, but for now he’s headed to Traverse City with the team. There could be “injuries to our team and other teams,” general manager Ken Holland said. “Lots happens in a month.”

Red Wings Place Derek Meech On Waivers

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland placed little-used defenseman Derek Meech on waivers Wednesday.

“I put Derek on waivers to see if a team wants to claim him and give him an opportunity,‘’ Holland said. "If he clears, he’ll come to camp. There’s still a month (before the start of the regular season), things change, there’s injuries. His fate has yet to be determined.’’

Meech has served as the team’s seventh or eighth defenseman for most of his career. He can play forward in a pinch as well, but he’s never been able to stick full-time with the team.

Holland tried to trade Meech but had no luck. That’s not very surprising, considering Meech has picked up just four goals and 12 assists over 126 career games with Detroit. Meech wasn’t a highly touted prospect either, drafted 229th overall back in 2002.

Teams have until noon Thursday to claim Meech. If nobody takes the bait, he’ll join the Wings for camp, and then be promptly sent to Grand Rapids if there’s no serious injuries.

Justin Abdelkader Has Cap Hit Of $787,500

The little cap space the Red Wings had left is now basically completely gone with the signing of Justin Abdelkader, as he will have a cap hit of $787,500 for each of the next two seasons.

This upcoming season, Abdelkader will earn $750,000. For the 2011-12 season, Abdelkader will get $825,000. The average of those two years' salaries is the aforementioned $787,500 cap hit.

With the current cap/roster situation, the Red Wings will definitely be moving at least a couple players before the season starts. They don't have to be cap compliant until closer to the regular season, but it is expected that at the very least Derek Meech and a forward will be moved. Training camp and the exhibition season will determine who makes the cut and who is sent packing.

Red Wings, Justin Abdelkader Agree To 2-Year Deal

The Red Wings and forward Justin Abdelkader have agreed to terms on a two-year deal.

Abdelkader was the last of the major restricted free agents the Red Wings needed to sign this offseason. Part of the reason the signing took so long is because the Red Wings were waiting to hear from Mike Modano. Once that happened, contract talks with Abdelkader got moving and now a deal is in place.

With Abdelkader back in the fold, the Red Wings' roster for the 2010-11 season is essentially in place. There will be some moves made before the season to get rid of a couple players, but now all of the pieces are in place for the upcoming season.

Red Wings Re-Sign Jamie Tardif

One of the Red Wings' low-profile restricted free agents, Jamie Tardif, has been re-signed to a one-year deal. He was tendered an offer back in June but only now re-signed.

Tardif has a two-way deal, meaning he will be in Grand Rapids for sure. That's no surprise considering he was the captain of the Griffins last season and has played more than a few games there in past seasons.

In 2009-10, he recorded 33 points (16-17-33) and 90 penalty minutes in 77 games, while serving as team captain in Grand Rapids. He currently ranks among the Griffins’ all-time leaders with 239 games played (10th) and 602 shots on goal (5th). In 242 career AHL games, Tardif has tallied 51 goals and 49 assists for 100 points, while posting 241 PIM.

Tardif will earn a salary of $85,000 in the AHL. If he were ever called up to the NHL, his salary would jump to $550,000.

Justin Abdelkader Deal Expected 'Soon'

In the past week, the Red Wings have re-signed Darren Helm and signed Mike Modano, bolstering their depth at forward. With those two moves out of the way, it means that it is now time for the Red Wings to start focusing on getting a deal done with Justin Abdelkader, who is a restricted free agent just like Helm was.

They have one more player to sign, restricted free-agent center Justin Abdelkader. Holland said he expects that deal to be completed soon.

Abdelkader’s cap hit likely will be in the $800,000 range. And they would like to keep a cushion of about $500,000 to $700,000 to recall a player from the Grand Rapids Griffins in case short-term injuries leave them short of a full lineup.

After Abdelkader is re-signed, the Red Wings will have only a couple moves left to make before their roster is essentially finalized heading into the season. The first move will be to get rid of a forward, as adding Abdelkader back to the roster will put the Red Wings over the limit. There's a good chance that player will be Mattias Ritola, who could be waived or traded.

The other move that Ken Holland has wanted to make for a while now comes in the form of signing another defenseman for depth purposes. It remains to be seen if that will actually happen, but if it does, you can officially put Derek Meech's spot with the Wings on notice.

Red Wings Re-Sign Darren Helm To 2-Year, $1.825 Million Deal

With Mike Modano deciding this week to accept an offer to play with the Red Wings, other pieces of Detroit's offseason are now able to fall in place. Specifically, the Red Wings were able to finally re-sign Darren Helm, a move that both parties were waiting to do until after Modano made a decision.

Helm's deal is for two years and is worth $1.825 million.

Helm will earn $825,000 this season, and $1 million in 2011-12.

With Helm back under contract, the next thing the Red Wings need to do is re-sign Justin Abdelkader, who was also waiting on Modano to decide before getting a contract of his own. Once Abdelkader re-signs, the Red Wings' roster will pretty much be set. It's possible that Kirk Maltby could be re-signed to a two-way contract and that another defenseman could be added, but for the most part, the Wings will be able to start looking ahead to training camp.

Sergei Kolosov Also Re-Signs With Red Wings

In addition to re-signing Derek Meech on Thursday, the Red Wings inked restricted free agent Sergei Kolosov to a one-year deal.

Like Meech's deal, Kolosov will receive a salary of $500,000 if he plays for the Red Wings next season. Kolosov is on a two-way contract, however, and it is expected that he will be in Grand Rapids for another season. If that is the case, then his salary will be $80,000.

Meech is on a one-way deal, which means he will receive $500,000 regardless of if he plays for the Wings or the Griffins. That is why it's likely he will be traded if he doesn't win the job to be the Wings' sixth defenseman. There isn't the flexibility there to move him from Detroit to Grand Rapids, and Meech would rather go somewhere else anyways if he is just going to be in a suit on game day as nothing more than extra depth.

Red Wings Re-Sign Derek Meech To 1-Year, $500,000 Deal

Defenseman Derek Meech has been re-signed by the Red Wings. Meech's contract is only one year long and is worth $500,000.

Meech, like Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller, was a restricted free agent who was expected to sign rather early on in the summer, especially since he filed for arbitration and would have had a hearing next week. Because he signed the offer the Wings gave him, however, that hearing is no longer necessary.

Meech's chances of actually sticking around with the Red Wings will come down to whether or not he can make the team as the sixth defenseman. The Wings have their top five defensemen in place, leaving that sixth spot open. Meech will be one of the players involved in the competition for that spot, and he won't be alone, especially if the Wings sign another defenseman like they hope to.

The other notable restricted free agents that need to be signed still are Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm. Previously it was reported that they will not be signed until later in the summer, and there has been no indication that deals will happen sometime soon.

Patrick Eaves' Deal Worth $750,000

From ESPN's Pierre LeBrun:

Patrick Eaves re-signs in Detroit for one year, $750,000

Drew Miller's deal for 2010-11 is worth $650,000, so Eaves will make $100,000 more than his one-time fellow restricted free agent.

Red Wings Re-Sign Patrick Eaves

Just a day after re-signing Drew Miller to a one-year deal, the Red Wings have done the same with fellow restricted free agent Patrick Eaves.

The Red Wings have re-signed forward Patrick Eaves to a one-year contract.

Eaves, 26, was a first-round draft pick (29th overall) of the Ottawa Senators in 2003t. He spent his first four NHL campaigns with the Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes before signing with Detroit for the 2009-10 season.

Based on how quickly these two signings got done after Ken Holland said things were close to happening, I'd expect Derek Meech to be inked to a deal in the very near future. After that, the Red Wings can start to move their focus to getting Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm signed, as it has been reported that their deals will take longer to get done.

Miller To Earn $650K For 2010-11

The Free Press has released the details of the Drew Miller deal, a one-year contract that the 26-year-old forward agreed to earlier today to stay in Detroit.

Miller will earn $650,000 next season, which puts the team’s total salary at $54.9 million. Miller made $525,000 last season, so the deal is a slight raise, which was expected after he put up career high numbers in goals, assists and points.

This will leave the Red Wings with about $4.5 million in cap space, according to Capgeek.com. Detroit now has 19 players committed to next season.

Red Wings Re-Sign Drew Miller

From the Red Wings' official site:

The Red Wings have re-signed forward Drew Miller to a one-year contract.

Miller, 26, was a sixth-round draft pick (186th overall) of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. He played parts of three seasons with the Ducks before being traded to Tampa Bay prior to the 2009-10 season.  After 14 games with the Lightning, the club placed him on waivers. The Red Wings claimed Miller on Nov. 11, 2009.

It was reported earlier today that the Wings were close to re-signing Miller, Patrick Eaves and Derek Meech, and already one of those players is back under contract. I'd imagine we will hear about deals with the other two sometime soon.

Ken Holland: Wings Close To Signing A Few Restricted Free Agents

The Red Wings soon may have three of their restricted free agents under contract, according to GM Ken Holland.

“I’ve talked a lot with them the last two, three days and feel we’re pretty close,’’ Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.

The three RFAs in question are Drew Miller, Patrick Eaves and Derek Meech. Meech actually filed for arbitration on Monday, although it seems he will likely be signed before his hearing. Miller and Eaves decided not to file for arbitration.

As for the other noteworthy RFAs -- Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm -- they will likely not be signed until later in the summer.

Red Wings Offer 9 Restricted Free Agents

Ansar Khan is reporting that the Red Wings made qualifying offers to nine restricted free agents earlier this week.

In addition to making qualifying offers, as expected, to Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and Derek Meech, the Red Wings also qualified defensemen Sergei Kolosov and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, forward Jamie Tardif and goaltender Daniel Larsson.

They severed ties with forwards Evan McGrath and Johan Ryno, who were not extended qualifying offers and now are unrestricted free agents.

Restricted free agents don't exactly have a ton of options outside of taking the qualifying offer to re-sign with their team or heading to Europe to play hockey overseas.

Restricted free agents have limited options. They can accept their qualifying offer (one year at a 10 percent raise from their 2009-10 salary), negotiate a longer-term deal with the club, seek an offer sheet from another team after July 1 (highly unlikely, since their club has the right to match or receive a draft pick as compensation) or play in Europe.

For the Red Wings, two of their RFAs, Tollefsen and Larsson, have already decided to play in Sweden next season. By offering them a deal, however, the Red Wings will retain their NHL rights.

As for the other seven restricted free agents, it is expected that they will eventually all be signed. It's not likely that all of them will quickly re-sign with the team, but when all is said and done those seven are expected to be back with the Red Wings next season.

Red Wings Extend Offers To Restricted Free Agents

From the Free Press' Helene St. James:

They also have extended qualifying offers to all five of their restricted free agents: forwards Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm and defenseman Derek Meech. There have been some preliminary talks with the agents for Eaves and Miller. Eaves, Miller and Meech all have arbitration rights.

The basic plan for the Wings this offseason was to at least lock up Nick Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi and the five restricted free agents. So far Lidstrom and Holmstrom are already back and offers have been made to Bertuzzi and the RFAs. Beyond that, there's a chance that Andreas Lilja could be brought back, but that will be dependent on how much cap space is available and what the free agent market looks like.