The Detroit Red Wings wanted to bring back defenseman Brad Stuart, but they traded his rights away to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Stuart made it clear he wanted to play somewhere closer to his family, and although the Red Wings were ready to begin negotiations, Stuart wasn't interested.
The Red Wings also want to bring back forward Jiri Hudler. Ansar Khan spoke with Ken Holland following the Stuart trade on Sunday, and Holland said the Red Wings are ready to offer Hudler a deal to re-sign.
"We're prepared to offer him a contract,'' Holland said. "He's got the right to go to free agency. We'll see what happens. Right now Jiri will continue taking time to determine what he wants to do.''
This could end up being a situation similar to what happened with Stuart. Hudler doesn't want to go somewhere else to play closer to his family, but chances are the Red Wings will lose a free agent that they wanted to bring back. Hudler is likely to find a bigger contract offer on the open market, and the Red Wings probably won't match it. Him signing elsewhere wouldn't be a huge loss, but it would mean that there is more depth to fill at forward for the Red Wings.
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