The Detroit Red Wings remain busy this morning, signing forward Matt Luff to a one-year, two-way deal.
The Oakville, Ontario native had four points in 19 NHL games with the Red Wings last year, a season impacted due to wrist surgery after getting hit from behind by Montreal’s Juraj Salfkovsky in November. Luff was a stout AHLer, scoring eight goals and 25 points in 28 games with Grand Rapids.
The 26-year-old has been an in-betweener throughout his career, scoring 15 goals and 27 points in 106 games over five NHL seasons with Los Angeles, Nashville and Detroit. Luff has been a strong AHLer with 57 goals and 145 points over seven seasons, scoring a career-high 31 points twice despite never playing more than 36 games in a season.
The Red Wings enter the free agency window with $26.5 million in projected cap space. With GM Steve Yzerman at the helm, the team has no UFAs and just one RFA of note: Joe Veleno. AHLers Jared McIsaac, Wyatt Newpower and John Lethemon are all pending RFAs down in the minors.
The Red Wings missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, finishing seventh in the Atlantic. Most expect the Red Wings to continue the upswing as the team builds a solid foundation, but making the playoffs in arguably the most difficult division could be a challenge.
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