Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said on Wednesday that a deal with Kirk Maltby is expected to be finished "within 48 hours." Maltby has been weighing an offer from the Wings for about a week now and has been contemplating whether or not to take the one-year, two-way deal. The way Holland sees it, the best thing to do is sign the contract, go to training camp and see what happens from there.
“Let’s come to camp,” Holland said of his outlook for Maltby. “He wants to see where he’s at when we have more information, based on him and a whole lot of other people. Then he and I will have more information at our disposal for the next decision to be made.”
Barring an injury bug that goes through camp, it isn't expected that Maltby will make the team right now. If that is what ends up happening when camp and the preseason finish up, then Maltby will have to decide if he wants to play in the AHL and be there as a contingency plan for the Wings in case injuries happen at some point. Chances are he would spend most of the season in the AHL no matter what, so that may not be something he wants to do at this point in his career.