Simek suffered a lower-body injury during a preseason game in late-September and is questionable to play in the season opener. Simek has yet to resume skating, which makes it seem unlikely that he'll be in the lineup vs. The Golden Knights next Thursday.
Motte had eight goals, 11 assists, 109 SOG, six PIMs, and a +3 plus/minus across 62 games played with Ottawa and the New York Rangers in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year deal worth $800,000. The 28-year-old center is joining his sixth NHL team after Tampa was able to sign him due to Josh Archibald's contract termination.
Veleno had nine goals, 11 assists, 30 PIMs, 85 SOG, and a -12 plus/minus through 81 games with the Red Wings in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $825,000 extension Wednesday. The 23-year-old was Detroit's 2018 first-round pick (30th overall) and has picked up 18 goals, 36 points, and 166 SOG through 152 career NHL games across three seasons.
Petry was traded to the Canadiens as a part of the Erik Karlsson trade a couple of weeks ago, and 25 percent of his salary was retained then. Detroit getting him with an additional 50 percent retained means he'll come in at $2.344M AAV for the next two seasons. The 35-year-old is a Michigan native and is coming off a 31-point (5G / 26A) season, appearing in just 61 games for the Penguins.
Petry surprisingly returns to Montreal after just one season after being included as part of a three-way trade which saw Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh and three players and a 1st-round pick head to San Jose. The 35-year-old defensemen left Montreal for Pittsburgh after eight seasons and had five goals, 26 assists, 113 SOG, 24 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 61 games in 2022-23.
Tarsenko had 18 goals, 32 assists, 169 SOG, eight PIMs and a -14 plus/minus through 69 games played with both St. Louis and New York in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $5,000,000 contract with Ottawa. The 31-year-old right-winger will join his third team in his 12th NHL season and has 270 goals, 573 points with 2124 SOG through 675 career games played.
Stevens had 15 goals, 18 assists, 17 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 48 games with Utica (AHL) in 2022-23 and has been signed a one-year, two-way contract by Detroit. The 26-year-old centre was drafted in the fifth-round of the 2016 NHL Draft (125th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut after six AHL seasons.
DeBrincat was reportedly seeking a long-term deal, which Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was not keen on giving out. The term was likely what held up the trade, which had long been rumoured to be happening. DeBrincat is now signed through the 2027 NHL season and is one of four forwards in Detroit with at least four years on their deals, joining Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher.
Sebrango was a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and split the 2023 season between Grand Rapids (AHL) and Toledo (ECHL). The 21-year-old was fairly deep on the Red Wings' defensive prospect depth chart, so it's not a huge loss for an organization that has invested a lot of draft capital in defensemen in recent years. During his time in the AHL, Sebrango had five goals and 13 assists (18 points) in 135 games over the last three seasons.
DeBrincat was an RFA that had made it known that he was not interested in re-signing with the Senators. After one season, where he scored 27 goals with 39 assists (66 points) in 82 games, DeBrincat was traded to his hometown team, where he immediately becomes their best goal-scorer and a crucial part of the Red Wings' rebuild. DeBrincat is a two-time 40-goal scorer and has averaged 38 goals and 38 assists (76 points) per 82-games over the last three seasons.
Lethemon had a 18-1-3 record, 1.99 GAA and .930 SV% with a the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) and has agreed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 AAV with Detroit. The 26-year-old netminder was originally signed as an undrafted Free Agent in 2020-21 after finishing four years at Michigan State University (NCAA) and has yet to make his NHL debut having jumped back and forth from the AHL and ECHL.
Lagesson had 10 goals, 22 assists, 46 PIMs and a +14 plus/minus through 65 games last season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) and will join Toronto on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 27-year-old defenseman failed to see any NHL playing time in 2022-23 but still brings 60 games of experience as well as seven career assists to the Maple Leafs.
Fischer had 13 goals, 14 assists, 122 SOG, 20 PIMs and a -7 plus/minus through 80 games with Arizona in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1,125,000 contact. The 26-year-old right-winger joins Detroit after seven seasons in Arizona where he had 56 goals, 111 points, 97 PIMs and 608 SOG through 398 career NHL games.
Rafferty had nine goals, 42 assists, 42 PIMs and a +28 plus/minus through 72 games with Coachella Valley (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV with Detroit. The 28-year-old undrafted defensemen has appeared in three career NHL games and has an assist and -2 plus/minus rating.
Oettinger had 13 goals, 22 assists, 26 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 52 games with Hartford (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Detroit. The 25-year-old left-winger played scarcely across four seasons in New York picking up one assist and 10 SOG through 16 career NHL games played.
Gustafsson had seven goals, 35 assists, 122 SOG, 23 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 70 games with both Washington and Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract worth $825,000 with the New York Rangers. The 31-year-old offensively-minded defenseman brings 39 goals and 191 points across 379 career NHL games to the Rangers.
Compher had 17 goals, 35 assists, 154 SOG, 33 PIMs and a +8 plus/minus through 82 games with Colorado in 2022-23 and has signed a five-year contract worth $25.5 million ($5.1M AAV) with Detroit. The 28-year-old left-winger joins the Red Wings after seven successful seasons in Colorado that included a Stanley Cup win, 88 goals and 194 points in 423 career NHL games.
Lyon was one of the best stories of the 2022-23 season as his late season heroics helped will Florida into one of the final playoff positions and has signed a two-year, $900,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings. The 30-year-old travelling netminder had his most successful season to date in 2022-23, going 9-4-2 with a .914 SV% and 2.89 GAA.
Holl had two goals, 16 assists, 60 SOG, 39 PIMs and a +15 plus/minus through 80 games with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year contract worth $10.2 million ($3.4M AAV) in Detroit. The 31-year-old undrafted defenseman joined the Maple Leafs in 2017-18 and has scored 11 goals and 82 points with a +58 plus/minus in 285 career NHL games since.