Andreas Athanasiou has red tape to clear but he is at last headed back to the Detroit Red Wings.
The stalemate between the sides is all but officially over as Athanasiou agreed Friday to a one-year deal worth $1.3875 million. The Wings will have to clear that amount off their salary cap before the contract becomes official, but that is not the only hurdle.
General manager Ken Holland said Friday evening that the Wings will apply Monday morning for a work visa for Athanasiou. Athanasiou has been in Switzerland for the past 10 days while mulling his future, and is expected to fly to Toronto this weekend to pack his things. When he does come to Detroit, the first thing he will have to do is pass a physical.
The agreement brings to a close a saga that had turned ugly as Athanasiou held out as the Wings gathered for training camp. On Sept. 16, the day after camp began, Holland flew to Toronto and met with Athanasiou and his agent, Darren Ferris. Holland told Athanasiou he would be a top-nine forward, and play both special teams. In addition to a one-year deal, the Wings had at that time also offered a two-year offer for $1.9 million a season.
Athanasiou, 23, had 18 goals and 29 points along with a minus-7 rating in 64 games last season. The Wings have him marked as one of their key rebuilding blocks.
That was reiterated to Athanasiou this past Monday during a conference call that included head coach Jeff Blashill. Athanasiou bristled at times last season over not getting more playing time, but Holland said he doesn't expect there to be lingering sore feelings.
"One of the things I try to do as a general manager is take emotion out of it," Holland said. "You're going through a business decision. Once you get a deal done that both sides feel relatively good about, you get back to the business of being a professional hockey player. We're on the same team. So from my perspective, he was doing things that he was able to do under the terms of the CBA. It was a longer process probably than he would have liked, and I would have liked, but I am happy that we're only two-and-a-half weeks into the season and it's not a month later."
It's not a good situation when a player misses camp and exhibition season, but Athanasiou is young and such a good skater he should be able to gain peak conditioning fairly quickly. While he could be sent to Grand Rapids for a conditioning stint, Holland said that's an unlikely scenario.
Athanasiou will not count against the salary cap until he physically signs the contract, and since it could take anywhere from a few days to a week or two to clear up the visa situation, there is a little leeway in making a decision. David Booth can be sent to the minors, clearing a bit of room. It's entirely possible someone gets hurt and ends up on injured reserve, too.
"We've got time to figure out what we are going to do," Holland said. "Hopefully we don't have any injuries, but if you do, that certainly affects whatever decision we make.
"Ultimately I'm sitting here today thinking that at some point in time over the next few days to a week to two weeks, that we have to make some type of move to make room to get Andreas onto our roster."
