The Detroit Red Wings took a shot when they signed Libor Sulak to a two-year contract in 2017, inking the undrafted Czech defender to an entry-level deal. They even allowed him to play in Finland that season to continue his development, before bringing him to North America this year to play in the minor leagues. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear like that will continue, as Sulak has signed with HC Severstal in the KHL. Scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer, Sulak’s rights can be retained by the Red Wings if they issue him a qualifying offer.
Sulak, 25, ended up playing in six NHL games with the Red Wings this season but was held scoreless. He contributed 14 points in 61 contests with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but that apparently wasn’t enough to keep him in North America. An experienced international player, Sulak never did seem to click on this side of the pond and couldn’t get his offensive game to match the production he had in Europe.
His departure leaves the Red Wings with even fewer options for the blue line in 2019-20, as they have just five players signed to one-way deals. That means there is plenty of room for competition between some of the other young players, including the recently signed Oliwer Kaski and prospects like Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek. Looking even further, all three of Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley are unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2020, meaning the Red Wings’ defense corps could look very different in the coming years.