The two sides agreed to a two-year deal worth $7.55M (or, $3.775 per season). The new deal will run through 2014, and Quincey will become an unrestricted free agent just before his 29th birthday. He becomes the sixth NHL defenseman signed for 2012-13, joining Niklas Kronwall, Ian White, Jonathan Ericsson, Brendan Smith, and Jakub Kindl. The team will likely find an additional NHL body for the blueline later this summer — perhaps via trade, since the Red Wings have 15 NHL-ready forwards (excluding Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Holmstrom).

We tried our best to make a game of Quincey’s negotiations — asking folks to tweet us their arbitration predictions. In the end, we didn’t make it that far, but someone should still win a shirt, right? The closest guess (without going over, as per the rules) belonged to @TDP_David, who bid $3.76M — and was only off by 15k. We will be in touch to arrange shipment of a t-shirt of their choice. Thanks to everyone who submitted a figure. In total, we had nearly 100 guesses that averaged $3.79M.

Next on General Manager Ken Holland’s summer to-do list is getting the other restricted free agent locked in: Justin Abdelkader. The local media seem to think he’ll sign for four-ish years, at a figure just below $2M per season, which would be a significant raise from his $850,000 cap hit.

The Red Wings now have 23 players signed (the roster limit) — including Damien Brunner and Gustav Nyquist, each who do not have to clear waivers to be sent to Grand Rapids — and have dedicated a touch more than $57M of the (temporary) $70.3M salary cap, leaving about $13M in cap space.

Photo Credit: AP File Photo

One of the only real bargaining chips that restricted free agents have is the ability to take his team to arbitration. The Wings have two RFAs remaining, and one — Kyle Quincey — has opted to take the team to arbitration, a sign that the two parties haven’t come to an agreement on a number (the other, Justin Abdelkader, declined to take the team through a hearing).

Now that Quincey has filed, no other team can send him an offer sheet — which wouldn’t have happened anyway — and the team has a few weeks to work out a deal. If the two sides cannot make an agreement, a third party — or, arbiter — will determine his salary for the next one or two seasons (the team gets to decide the term). Each side will present their case and a number that they think is fair. In the past, these hearings have been difficult on player and team, so most teams will try to work out their agreements before getting to the hearing.

Once the arbiter rules on a dollar amount, the team has to decide if they accept the terms or if they walk away, making Q an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any club and with no compensation coming to the Detroit Red Wings. Considering the state that the defense currently finds itself, I can’t imagine the Wings walk away from the award, which is probably why Kyle Quincey’s agent advised his client to go through this process. When you couple that with the outrageous salaries that everyone — particularly defensemen — are commanding this July, Kyle Quincey could be in for a windfall.

Which got us thinking… we can have a little fun with this. We’ve begun taking predictions on Twitter (@TPLhockey) — tweet us your estimate. What do you think Kyle Quincey will command IF THE TWO PARTIES HEAD TO ARBITRATION. There’s a good chance that they don’t make it that far and Ken Holland locks Q up before the hearing. If that happens, all of the predictions become void. But if the two parties make it to the hearing and the arbiter awards a salary — what will it be? Not what you think he deserves… what the hearing will yield. The closest without going over (just like The Price is Right, y’all!) will be the lucky recipient of a TPL t-shirt of their choice. If there are two estimates with the same number, we’ll have to have a rap battle or something to determine the winner.

For comparison’s sake, he made $3.25M last season as salary (and his cap hit spread out over the life of the two year deal was $3.125M).

You can follow along with the current estimates by checking out this spreadsheet:

QUINCEY ARBITRATION via Google Docs

Good luck!

Photo Credit: Shaylan Spurway, The Fourth Period

As #SuterWatch clears Day 3 without any answers, seemingly more questions have begun to arise around the financial factors weighing on the 27 year-old defenseman. We now know that both Detroit and Minnesota sent representatives to Suter Farms in Madison, WI today, and the report from Helene St. James is that the Wings elevated their offer to $90 million over 13 years – a cap hit of roughly $6.9 million per season. At first blush, I thought that number was a bit low, but it appears it’s a $10 million increase from the Wings opening salvo.

There’s no doubt there’s going to be some big numbers flying around over the next day or so, but it’s doubtful that’s the only thing influencing Suter’s decision. That said, one would hope the Wings are willing to up the ante as much as necessary to secure Suter. Which is where you come in.

Simply: How much is too much for Ryan Suter?

Some will argue that there’s mountain (of cash) too high for landing Suter’s talents, while others may be more pragmatic with an eye towards the future. At any rate, there’s bound to be a plethora of opinions. So as you crack open that first beer of Independence, take a second and let us know in the comments how far your wallet would stretch for Mr. Suter.

Hell, I’ll even get the party started: Anything north of $8.5 million per season, and I’m starting to pucker up.

The floor is yours.

Photo Credit: USA Today

As #Suterwatch rolls along with no end in sight, the Red Wings are now saying goodbye to a couple of players. Our favorite midget, Jiri Hudler, has received the payday he was looking for courtesy of the Calgary Flames, who inked him to a 4 year, $16 million contract this afternoon. The math is pretty easy on this one, as Scuttles will have an average cap hit of $4 million, well north of what the Wings had offered. No real surprise to see Happy head out of town, as the writing was on the wall when Ken Holland brought back Mikael Samuelsson yesterday.

The other bit of news is that Grand Rapids Griffin and part-time Wings call-up Chris Conner has signed on with the Phoenix Coyotes. No word on the financials just yet, but it is a one year, two-way deal, similar to what Conner had with the Wings organization. I know Petrella is pretty bummed about this one, as Conner was one of the workhorses with an engine that never stopped last season, only slowed down by an unfortunate and poorly timed broken wrist.

At any rate, best of luck to Scuttles and Conner with their new teams. Oh, and Calgary? Hide the hookers and blow.

Photo Credit: Faceoff.com

Well, the Red Wings promised they were going to be active on July 1st. We were all expecting Ryan Suter and/or Zach Parise, but it looks like they’ll be delaying their decisions to tomorrow. On the heels of the Gustavsson and Brunner signings, Detroit has also announced two more free agent deals.

Former Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson returns to the fold (for some reason) for two years at $3M each. His deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

Former Nashville Predator agitator Jordin Tootoo has latched on for three years at $1.9M each.

The signings, including Brunner, give the Red Wings fifteen forwards under contract. Justin Abdelkader, who is a restricted free agent, would make sixteen — which is far too many. Ken Holland’s gotta be cooking something up involving some of the bottom six players, which are now in great abundance in Detroit. Perhaps a trade is in the works? Stay tuned.

Photo Credits: Paul Sancya, Associated Press; Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Detroit announced that they’ve reached an agreement with former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Jonas Gustavsson. The Monster has been locked up for two seasons at $1.5M per year, a slight raise over his pay in Toronto. At last weekend’s Draft, Toronto sent Gustavsson’s negotiating rights to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The Jets weren’t able to come to terms with the goaltender, who chose Detroit because of their history, their roster, and the opportunity to play for a winner.

His numbers aren’t all that impressive, but – to be fair – he’s been playing in Toronto, where hockey players go to toil. But in three seasons in the NHL, he has a GAA under 3, and a SV% over .900 – nothing to scoff at.

The Wings pursued Gustavsson in 2009 when he was a highly prized European player looking to make the jump across the pond. The Maple Leafs offered a spot on their roster immediately – something the Red Wings weren’t willing to do – and he signed up north. Three years later, they got their man.

He’s had to have three separate heart ablation surgeries, but he insists that he’s healthy and that he’ll be able to step in and help Detroit immediately. Detroit was unsure about Joey MacDonald’s health (back) and made it clear that they were looking for some insurance in net.

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Speaking of highly prized European players jumping the pond, the Red Wings also made their signing of impressive Swiss star Damien Brunner official today. He was signed to a one-year, two-way entry-level deal.

Photo Credit: Gary Wiepert, Reuters

It was an eventful weekend in Pittsburgh. Not necessarily for the Detroit Red Wings, but for the league as a whole, and for me personally. I love the Draft and spend far too many hours getting acquainted with as many guys as possible just in case they’re selected by the Red Wings. I had a list of 212 players (there were 211 picks this year) and familiarized myself with them, hoping that we’d nab a handful. When all was said and done, we took three players on that list: Martin Frk (my 19th ranked), Andreas Athanasiou (my 54), and Mike McKee (113).

MARTIN FRK (selected in the second round, 49th overall)
Halifax Mooseheads winger, 6-0, 198, must sign by June 2014, @frky91
In the end, this is an unbelievable pick for the Red Wings. Many mocks had him in the first round, and all of them had him going before #49. Despite a concussion that cost him most of the season, I was pretty sure he’d be off the board before Detroit got to their first selection, especially considering all of the devastating injuries sustained by so many of the top players available. That was not the case, and the hard-shooting winger was snatched up in what was likely a “value” pick. You simply weren’t going to get more of it at #49.

Frk (pronounced “Firk”) boasted arguably the hardest shot of any player available in the 2012 Draft, and he loves to work the power play. He shares a team with 2013’s top prospect Nate MacKinnon, so the Halifax Mooseheads might be a force in the QMJHL next season — particularly if Frk can remain healthy. If they do well, expect to hear more and more about the newest Future Red Wing since he will be relied upon in what will be his third season in Canadian Junior. He wears #91 because of his childhood hero, who you probably can name.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (it’s awesome)

JAKE PATERSON (selected in the third round, 80th overall)
Saginaw Spirit goaltender, 6-0, 178, must sign by June 2014, @JakePaterson57
Paterson was the third ranked North American goaltender heading into the Draft, and was Chris Osgood’s first foray into scouting. Osgood presented the jersey to Paterson, who was excited to join the team he grew up rooting for. Ozzie, evidently, traveled to Saginaw to watch Paterson play on nearly a dozen occasions and was impressed with his composure, particularly in big games. While his numbers may not be terribly impressive, it’s important to note that the Canadian Junior leagues are unbelievably offense-happy.

He was selected because the Wings depth in goaltending is getting a little thin. After Jimmy Howard and Joey MacDonald, the team is going to let (at least) three goaltenders fight it out for playing time on the farm: Jordan Pearce, who is entering the final year on his contract but has played quite well in Grand Rapids; Thomas McCollum, who has had a really rough pro career since being drafted by the Wings in ’08; and Petr Mrazek, who is turning pro this season and should be an exciting prospect for Wings fans to keep an eye on. Beyond that, there was nobody… until Jake Paterson was selected.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (it’s also awesome)

ANDREAS ATHANASIOU (selected in the fourth round, 110th overall)
London Knights winger, 6-0, 165, must sign by June 2014, @AndreasA86
Here’s your raised eyebrow pick of the day. Athanasiou was very clearly one of the fastest — if not the fastest — skater available in the Draft, and was — for a long time — considered to be a first round pick, maybe even a top 15 pick. He had what you might call an up-and-down season in London, and there were questions about his actual hockey ability outside of his world-class skating. He found himself a healthy scratch down the stretch and in the playoffs, despite scoring twenty goals on the season. With a number of players “graduating” from the Knights, his role should be expanded, and hopefully he’ll blossom into the player that the Red Wings need him to be.

At the moment, his hockey sense is lacking and the rest of his skill needs to catch up to his feet. One scout went so far as to say that if players were selected solely on their skating, he’d #1 or #2 this season… but that “his brain and hands need to catch up to his feet.” When all is said and done, finding a guy of this (raw) talent available in the hundreds is special. He’s a project, but he could be a gamble that pays off like crazy.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (still awesome)

MIKE MCKEE (selected in the fifth round, 140th overall)
Lincoln Stars defenseman, 6-4, 230, must sign by August 2016, @mikemckee23
I’m very excited about the Wings’ fourth selection, Mike McKee. In my opinion, he’s the most likely player to eventually play on — and make an impact for — the Detroit Red Wings. He’s an absolute beast of a human being, already standing 6-4 and weighing 230 as a teenager. He’s committed to Western Michigan, where he’ll be playing next season, so the Wings have up to four years to sign him to a contract.

He’s not a big scorer, but he’s a bruising blueliner that is no stranger to the penalty box and projects to be a third pairing defenseman. If he can refine that size of his into something lethal while on patrol and learn to control his impulses while playing collegiate puck, he’ll be an interesting prospect in a few years. The Wings said they were going to draft bigger than usual, and they weren’t joking.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (continuing to be awesome)

JAMES DE HAAS (selected in the sixth round, 170th overall)
Toronto Lakeshore Patriots defenseman, 6-2, 197, must sign by August 2017, @Jdehaas3
Another guy who’s a few years away from consideration is James de Haas. He is committed to Clarkson University (who have housed Red Wings draft picks Bryan Rufenach [may he rest in peace] and Julien Cayer — neither of whom were signed by the Wings before their exclusive rights expired), but won’t arrive in the collegiate ranks until 2013-14. As a result, the Wings have five years to sign him to a contract.

Though he’s currently playing in a lower tier Junior League than most of the players drafted, he was a first team All-Star within it. He’s a long way out, and there’s not a lot of information available about him (I certainly hadn’t heard of him prior) so keep your fingers crossed for another late-round gem.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (I can’t believe how awesome they are)

RASMUS BODIN (selected in the seventh round, 200th overall)
HV-71 center, 6-6, 207, no signing deadline, @mrBoda10
A classic Red Wings pick with a quintessentially non-Red Wings twist. The Wings looked to Sweden for their last pick (NO WAY!), relying on super-scout Hakan Andersson to find some guy no one else in the world is familiar with. However, instead of finding an undersized and underdeveloped European stickhandler, like usual, he found King of the Scandanavian Titans. Homeboy was the tallest player selected in any of the seven rounds of the Draft, and he may very well get bigger.

Anderson secured a tryout from the Red Wings’ favorite SEL team, HV-71, and it looks like that’s where Bodin will be playing next season.

CLICK HERE TO READ RED WINGS CENTRAL’S ARTICLE (I bet you heard it was awesome)

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DAMIEN BRUNNER
Zug forward, 5-11, 187, @damienbrunner
Though he wasn’t a draft pick, the Wings seemed to have secured a guy from Switzerland that Mike Babcock believes will be a top six forward on next season’s incarnation of the Red Wings. Brunner, who was sought after by as many as a dozen NHL teams, was the leading scorer in the Swiss League.

He was already turning heads and attracting attention from teams like the Lightning and Penguins, but the Wings braintrust was convinced at the most recent World Championships. Mike Babcock got a few glimpses of him and asked Holland to fly in and check him out. Though he can’t officially sign a contract until July 1st, it sounds as if Damien Brunner and the Detroit Red Wings have agreed in principal to terms and that he is no longer in contact with other teams. He will be in training camp and will try to earn a roster spot, but it’s beginning to sound like it won’t be a problem if Mike Babcock’s to be trusted (although… he said the same of Fabian Brunnstrom, Ville Leino, and so on).

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Photo Credits: Halifax Mooseheads; Jamie Sabau, Getty Images; Saginaw Spirit; London Knights; Graig Abel, Getty Images North America; Toronto Lakeshore Patriots, Ostersunds IK; EV Zug

Without scouring the twitterverse to see if this is already out…Darren Helm agrees to 4 year, $8.5 deal in Detroit.

The averages out to a cap hit of $2.125M until the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, when he’ll become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 29. The deal makes him the sixth highest paid forward (behind Dan Cleary’s 2.8; but in front of Todd Bertuzzi’s 2.075). Of players currently on the NHL roster, only Henrik Zetterberg (’21), Johan Franzen (’20), and Niklas Kronwall (’19) are signed beyond the term that Helm now has, leading us to believe that the team views him as an essential component.

The Wings have two restricted free agents left to deal with in the coming weeks: Kyle Quincey — who will likely command a similar term but will come in around the 3M mark — and Justin Abdelkader — who will take a deal smaller than Helm’s.

As of right now, the Detroit Red Wings have 19 players under contract for next season and have spent just a shade over $46M to do it. If the salary cap goes up to $70.3 (as it’s expected to do, pending the new CBA), they have a little more than $24M to spend on the four remaining roster spots. Quincey and Abdelkader will likely eat up two of those.

Photo Credit: Claus Andersen, Getty Images

Since the Red Wings’ season came to an unceremonious end, we’ve trotted out the second year’s worth of Pro/No profiles, in a joint venture with our brothers at Winging it in Motown. We’ve asked you, our dear readers and members of the best damn hockey community on the interwebs, to give their vote — should the Wings keep their upcoming free agents or allow them to walk in search of greener pastures? We did our best to lay out the details — reasons they’d be welcomed back, reasons they may no longer have a place in Detroit, and any intangibles that certainly weigh into any general manager’s decisions. Unfortunately, any decisions that were left to be made…. have been made… but it’s certainly interesting to see how the fan-base voted, especially since voting closed long before any retirement or trades were announced.

This morning, we’re happy to share the results of those votes. We’ve got the defensemen and a goaltender; and Winging it in Motown has the forwards.

Well, the inevitable has happened. Defenseman Brad Stuart, who has been a mainstay on the blueline since his acquisition in 2008, has been traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Andrew Murray and a conditional seventh round draft pick in 2014.

Both Stuart and Murray are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1st. The Sharks now hold the exclusive negotiating rights for Stuart; and the Wings hold the exclusive negotiating rights for Murray. If the Sharks do sign Brad Stuart, the Red Wings will acquire the Sharks’ seventh round pick in 2014.

Andrew Murray is a thirty-year-old forward who has played 220 games in the NHL, most of them with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played four seasons at Bemidji State and three in Syracuse of the AHL before making his break into the League with the team that drafted him in the 8th round of the 2001 NHL Draft (that Draft was a pretty big bust for the Wings — only Dmitri Bykov played an NHL game for them, and he only lasted a season; goalie Drew MacIntyre played four games for Canucks and Sabres many years later).

Murray was signed to a one-way contract by the Blue Jackets, who kept him on the NHL roster for three seasons between 2008 and 2011. On July 13th of last year, San Jose signed him to a two-way deal, and he split the season between the NHL and the AHL’s Worcester Sharks. In 39 NHL games, he scored a goal and added three assists. In the 10 AHL games, he scored twice and added an assist. Chances are slim he’ll be re-signed by the Red Wings, although they are in need of filling the Griffins out for next season. If he were to earn a contract, he will very likely stay in Grand Rapids, so you may never get to see him in a Red Wings uniform.

UPDATE — According to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James, Murray will NOT be signed by the Red Wings, and goes on to say that the team is “not interested” in the idea of signing him.

Brad Stuart was originally drafted by the Sharks in 1998 (3rd overall) and played in San Jose for five successful seasons. He was traded to Boston as part of a package for current Sharks captain Joe Thornton. He was traded again to the Calgary Flames when it became apparent that the Bruins wouldn’t be able to sign him long-term. At the end of that season, he went back West on a contract with the Kings — who promptly traded him to the Red Wings, where he won a Stanley Cup immediately. Four-plus seasons in Motown were enough for the man whose family stayed behind in California, and it was clear that the Wings weren’t going to be able to re-sign him, either. Instead of letting him walk on the 1st (or making it difficult for Stuart to end up where he wanted to be), general manager Ken Holland arranged a deal that gave Stuart’s preference first crack at a deal. I can’t imagine he isn’t signed by the Sharks before we get to July 1st.

Good luck to Brad Start, who was a great hockey player and a strong soldier over five seasons in Detroit. I can’t imagine the difficulty of being away from your wife and children, and hopefully he’ll be much happier being close to them.

Photo Credit: Kelly Landis, Getty Images; Jeff Gross, Getty Images