The Wings have made their first, and possibly only move of free agent frenzy day.
UPDATE: The #RedWings re-signed C Andy Miele & G Tom McCollum to one-year contracts. – http://t.co/lJk9VHWFVY pic.twitter.com/DkPRchAMIC
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2015
Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill saw a lot of Andy Miele in Grand Rapids this past season, a campaign that saw Miele put up his second 70-point season in the AHL, leading the Griffins in scoring and placing 2nd in the league.
He has scored almost 250 points in 280 AHL games, and the 27-year old has a Hobey Baker on his mantle when he won it with Miami of Ohio in 2011 scoring 24 goals and 71 points. He has only been given 15 games of NHL experience since signing with the Phoenix Coyotes, totaling just two assists.
The big knock on Miele is his size (5’8″, 175 lbs), and not being able to adjust to the NHL level. It’s a relatively small sample size however, with the Coyotes going to the conference finals in his first taste (seven games) and the Coyotes on the downturn in 2013-14 (seven games, two assists). Miele’s chances were slim.
In the right system, Miele could thrive as a checking forward in the NHL that can put up some points. It’s up to him and Blashill in training camp to see if he can make it over others knocking on the door. (*cough Dylan Larkin *cough) It is a one-way deal coupled with the fact that Stephen Weiss is out of the picture and Pavel Datsyuk will be out most likely for the first month of the year. Grand opportunity for the kid.
As for Tom McCollum, the former first-round pick has been passed up on the depth chart by Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek, so it is a depth signing as is Miele’s. Big difference is that McCollum will likely stay in the AHL with the Wings goalies set. The 25-year old netted his first National Hockey League win this season and has a career AHL save percentage and GAA of .898 and 2.93, but has recently had his best seasons the last three years, posting an average of .914 and 2.44.
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