With NHL training camps set to open up next week, we are days away from training camp rosters to be announced from all 32 teams. While most excitement centers around seeing prospects as well as free agent and trade acquisitions for the first time, most training camp rosters aren’t complete without a few players on tryout agreements, otherwise known as PTOs.
The Detroit Red Wings have had success with PTOs in recent years. The most recent example saw forward Austin Watson join the team on a tryout, and his physicality and experience ultimately earned him a two-way contract to use those tools in both the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL). While a PTO doesn’t always result in an NHL contract, the players on those agreements can help settle roster battles as well as highlight needs within the organizational depth chart.
With that in mind, here are a few players the Red Wings may target with a PTO this year.
Craig Smith
Fans should be familiar with this name as he finished last season as a member of the Red Wings. Craig Smith, a 36-year-old veteran, was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in the trade deadline deal that also sent goalie Petr Mrázek to Detroit. In 19 games, he totaled just two points, both assists, while averaging a little over 10 minutes a night in ice time.
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Smith is a veteran of 987 regular season games in the NHL as well as 83 playoff games. He has a wealth of experience that could be useful for the Red Wings’ group of young talent, especially in the competitive environment that is training camp. He would be vying for a role in Detroit’s bottom six as well as on the penalty kill, but he wouldn’t be a significant threat to the organization’s young players that could also fill those roles.
Smith was fine with the Red Wings last season, and he would likely be a solid veteran addition this season too. That being said, he’s the type of player you invite to training camp to set a baseline that younger players need to rise above.
Jani Hakanpää
33-year-old defenseman Jani Hakanpää was limited to just two games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season due to a knee injury that ultimately resulted in surgery. Prior to last season, he as a big, mean defenseive defenseman over three seasons with the Dallas Stars. He was cleared to practice right towards the end of the Maple Leafs season and is now looking to make up for the season he lost.
Hakanpää stands at 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, and he isn’t afraid to use his size. He accumulated 668 hits over 226 regular season games with the Stars, averaging just under three hits a game. The Red Wings have not had a physical presence on their blue line like that since prime Niklas Kronwall, and even Kronwall didn’t have the moster build that Hakanpää has.
The Red Wings have a need for another right handed defenseman on their blue line, and his physical play would mesh with the organization’s objective to become a lot harder to play against. At minimum, that is worthy of a PTO, but it could quickly turn into a contract depending on how his knee looks.
Andreas Athanasiou
Another name that should be familiar to Red Wing fans, Andreas Athanasiou spent the first four and a half seasons of his NHL career in Detroit before he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers at the 2020 trade deadline. Since then, he spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and then the last three seasons with the Blackhawks.
A fourth round pick in the 2012 draft, the best season of Athanasiou’s career was the 2018-19 season – his last full season with the Red Wings – when he recorded 30 goals and 54 points. He had 20 goals and 40 points in his first season in Chicago, but he concluded his time in the Blackhawks organization with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, collecting 27 points in 30 games.
Athanasiou’s game has always been about speed and offense. He’s the type of player you invite to camp to compete with prospects like Nate Danielson and Amadeus Lombardi for a role in the Red Wings’ middle six. With almost 500 regular season games of experience under his belt, Athanasiou could be a good “pinch hitter” on offense when the team needs a spark. If he’s willing to accept a two-way contract like Watson did last season, Athanasiou would also be a huge boost to the Grand Rapids Griffins’ offense.
Training Camp Just Days Away
With training camp starting up soon and the preseason starting shortly after, it will be interesting to see who attends Red Wings traning camp and who will play with who and in what role. We should have a good idea of what Detroit’s lineup could look like once training camp starts up next week.
