The Detroit Red Wings may not have landed James van Riemsdyk, but they did add a forward today. Alex Chiasson has signed a one-year, one-way, prorated $750K contract for the rest of this season. Chiasson had been playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins on an AHL contract.
Since he wasn’t on waivers today, it appears as though Chiasson is staying with Detroit for the time being. The 32-year-old forward has been a solid contributor for the Griffins, with 20 points in 29 games, and has a long history of providing depth scoring at the NHL level. In a 631-game career, the 6’4″ forward has 224 points, including 13 goals just last season for the Vancouver Canucks.
While he won’t be dragging the Red Wings to the playoffs, the team needed some forwards to fill the spots vacated by Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, and Oskar Sundqvist over the last few days. Chiasson is a reliable veteran who has put in his time in the minor leagues and can now get some extra pay down the stretch. He’ll also get a chance to showcase himself for a deal next season.
At just 32, this was the first time Chiasson had played in the AHL since 2013. If he can play well for the Red Wings whenever he gets the chance, perhaps another NHL contract is still waiting for him in the summer.
Its Jakub Vrana not Frana….likely want to correct that one ;)