Ken Holland announced Monday that the Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman Xavier Ouellet to a one-year, $715,000 contract extension. Ouellet was drafted in 2011 by Detroit; taken in the second round, 48th overall and his two-way contract was set to expire in July.
The 22-year-old Ouellet has been in and out of Detroit’s line-up since the 2013-14 season, but is currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. In 25 NHL games—all with Detroit—Ouellet has tallied 4 points (1 G, 3 A) and has a plus-4 rating.
He was a favorite of former coach Mike Babcock during call-ups from Grand Rapids, “He’s smart, he’s competitive, he makes plays and he plays like a veteran player.”
This season Jeff Blashill is using the right-handed shooting Alexey Marchenko in the spot Ouellet used to occupy under Babcock.
Wings signed D-man Xavier Ouellet to a one-year extension, a one-way deal for $715,000. Still be a restricted free agent after it expires.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 16, 2015
Ouellet is in his third season with the Griffins, playing 133 games and registering 36 points (6 G, 30 A) and sporting a minus-2 rating. Ouellet has scored three points (1 G, 2 A) through 11 games this season with a minus-5 rating for the 2-8-0 Griffins, who sit last in the Central division.
Ouellet must clear waivers to be sent back down at the start of next season. He has put off restricted free agency one more year and will have the rights to arbitration when his extension expires in July of 2017.
Statistics compiled from Hockey-Reference and HockeyDB.