The Red Wings filled a need for a veteran defenseman, signing Mike Commodore to a one-year, $1 million deal on Friday.
Commodore was bought out of his contract by the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he played from 2008-2011. In 11 NHL seasons, Commodore has 23 goals and 81 assists. Commodore is known more for his physical play than his offensive prowess, but he does bring a right-handed shot on the blue line, something Detroit lost when Brian Rafalski retired.
Ansar Khan notes the potential awkwardness of the deal, as Commodore and Wings head coach Mike Babcock have a bit of history:
Interesting signing, since Commodore has had issues with Red Wings coach Mike Babcock when they were in Anaheim, publicly ripping him a couple of years ago when he played for the Blue Jackets.
At $1 million for one year, this is a low-risk, high-reward signing for Detroit. He came significantly cheaper than someone like James Wisniewski (6 years, $33 million from Columbus) or Christian Erhoff (10 years, $40 million from Buffalo).
The deal leaves the Wings about $10 million under the cap, which is plenty of room to sign a backup goalie and possibly a scoring forward.