Mason Appleton, Winnipeg Jets (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Red Wings Sign Appleton to 2-Year Contract with $2.9 Million AAV

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Declan Schroeder | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 3:40 PM ET

The Detroit Red Wings have signed right winger Mason Appleton to a two-year contract with a $2.9 million average annual value.

Appleton scored 10 goals and added 12 assists for 22 points in 71 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2024-25, the final season of a three-year deal with a $2.166 million AAV he signed with the Jets in 2022 after being reacquired from the Seattle Kraken at the 2022 Trade Deadline. He also recorded seven assists in 13 playoff games.

In 400-career NHL games between the Jets and Kraken, the 29-year-old 2015 sixth-round Jets pick has 57 goals and 81 assists for 124 points.

Red Wings Get Middle-Six Option in Appleton

In Appleton, the Red Wings are getting a hard-working third-liner who has some offensive upside but not high-end finishing skill. For the last two seasons in Winnipeg, he played on the Jets’ third line with Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter, and while he put up fewest points of the trio, the line was one head coaches Rick Bowness and Scott Arniel trusted in all situations and to face against opponents’ best. He can also shoulder a penalty-killing role.

The Red Wings, who were once a dynasty, have not made the playoffs for nine-straight seasons and have not won a round since 2012-13. Their poor start last season led them to fire head coach Derek Lalonde in December and replace him with Todd McLellan, but the “coaching boost” was not enough to get the Red Wings into the postseason as they finished sixth in the Atlantic Division.

Ahead of free agency opening, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman acquired goaltender John Gibson in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks and re-signed Patrick Kane. On free agency’s opening day, he signed veteran forward James van Riemsdyk, and earlier today, re-signed Elmer Soderblom.