In the summer of 2013, the Red Wings shocked many in the hockey world, acquiring long-time Senator Daniel Alfredsson after he bolted from the Senators looking to win a Cup at the tail end of his career, a la Raymond Bourque or more recently, Kimmo Timonen. That same day, the Wings added another new and experienced face, Florida Panthers all-time assists and games played leader Stephen Weiss.
After Valteri Filppula‘s time in Detroit expired on that July 1st, the then-30 year old forward was expected to be the guy to replace the Finnish talent as a second-line center/depth scorer. At least his track record indicated that, averaging close to 53 points his last six seasons in Sunrise before signing with Detroit, excluding the lockout-shortened 2013 season in which he played just 17 games. He came at a high price, as his deal would pay him 4.9 million per season over five years.
“Coming from Florida and being there for about 10 years, only playing in the playoffs one year it was a pretty easy decision to come and play for … this Red Wings’ organization that’s had the culture of winning over the years. I think when you look at Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk and when coach said he wanted to put those two together and have me in the two spot it’s pretty exciting. Getting a chance to play with those two players and learn from them, those are two of the top [forwards] in the game and see what they do on a daily basis and try and get better as a player.”
Obviously Weiss was pretty giddy, and how could you blame him?
Former head coach Mike Babcock made it pretty clear before training camp to the centerman making a transition to a historic environment where winning is expected in a big market.
“Told him if he wasn’t ultra-competitive he couldn’t come here. If he didn’t bring it every day he couldn’t come here, because he was going to hate it if he didn’t, dislike the coach and dislike playing here. It’s real straightforward. If you don’t do it right, you’re not happy here.”
With that, Weiss began with the Wings as he was projected, a second-line center with Johan Franzen on his wing with clear goals in mind.
“I’m going to come in and do what I’ve done over my career and take care of my play on the ice. Hopefully that’s good enough. I don’t want to be Valtteri Filppula’s replacement, I want to be Stephen Weiss and do what I do. If I do that I think we’ll be OK.”
Unfortunately for Weiss, his 2013-14 season was derailed before it even started, as it was revealed he was playing through a groin injury in training camp. The injury was apparent in Weiss’s production, playing in just 26 games and putting up two goals and four points. After his 26th game, he would not play again that campaign, suffering from the groin and having sports hernia surgery along with many setbacks. That contract was not looking good with the early returns.
Determined to return, Weiss came into camp this past season pain-free and determined to make a positive impact on the ice versus making a negative impact on the Red Wings’ cap situation.
He did not impress in the preseason, and was a scratch in the first four games of the season, suiting up for one in October against the Maple Leafs. After sitting out with younger blood getting more ice time, Weiss was sent down to Grand Rapids, complying fully with the team in trying to get back into game speed. His first conditioning stint saw a familiar result, as Weiss injured himself. Soon enough, he came back and played a few games with the Griffins, scoring two goals and getting a call-up back to Detroit.
“I’ve put in a lot of work. I’ve changed up some things I’ve been doing off the ice as well, and that seems to be really helping.”
Thus followed his best stint as a Detroit Red Wing, scoring four goals and ten points in seven games, scoring two goals in his return against the Ottawa Senators on November 24th. Though the pace would probably not keep up, it was a great sight to see if you were a Red Wings fan, seeing the investment made a couple offseasons ago paying dividends and helping the team win hockey games better late than never.
Weiss of course, was humble about it going through what he went through the past year.
“I never lost confidence. It was just a matter of being able to get some reps in the lineup and being healthy. Right now that’s the case. I’m able to be play in these games and I have no issues with health right now. It’s nice to get some bounces. Anytime you can get some bounces and see the puck go in for you and your linemates, it takes some weight off your shoulders.”
It was a feel-good story, but it did not last. Weiss would score just five goals and 15 more points the rest of the way (44 games), regularly seeing time on the third and fourth lines and not getting consistent reps being scratched in favor of younger players. He played in two postseason games.
Many fans and experts alike expected the Wings to think about buying out the 32-year old center. Others thought the Wings would keep Weiss around to see how he would do under new head coach Jeff Blashill‘s system. Today, the former thought came to fruition just before the 5:00 pm deadline.
#RedWIngs have bought out Stephen Weiss.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) June 30, 2015
In the end, injuries, a logjam of young forwards, and just a really difficult time adjusting back to game speed did it in for Weiss’s tenure with Detroit. The pricey contract did not help either, as Weiss could not live up to the cap hit against the organization. General Manager Ken Holland offered his take on the situation.
“When we looked at our groups of forwards, most of them are young. They need to play. We think they’re ready to play. And it’s hasn’t worked out the way Stephen wanted it to, or we wanted it to.”
As they say, hockey is a business and the move helps the organization overall. The Wings cleared 3.9 million in cap space and have an increased presence to search the waters of free agency and sign their restricted free agents, including Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Jurco, and Teemu Pulkkinen. 2014 first round pick Dylan Larkin, with Pavel Datsyuk on the mend and Weiss no longer with the team, will have a grand opportunity to play along with others. The team is going through a youth movement, and Weiss fell further down the depth chart with each call-up. With the young talent Detroit debuted along with all he’s endured, Weiss’s opportunity diminished even more.
With no bad wishes, as a fan of Weiss I wanted to see him succeed and hopefully he can find another job in the National Hockey League and thrive in playing his role consistently. I had an opportunity to hear him speak about cracking an NHL lineup and staying there in a February trip to Joe Louis Arena for High School Journalist Day:
“The first thing is establishing yourself as an NHL player and trying to make sure you stick around,” Weiss, the veteran forward said. “Once you break that point you establish yourself personally and then it’s about winning a Stanley Cup. It’s what you dream about when you’re a kid. Dan’s gotten a chance to do it, and I know he really wants to get another one, so do Glenny and I. [We] want to get a taste and see what it’s all about. You get goose bumps just talking about it.”
Who knows, maybe he can stick around in a different situation and eventually get his taste of hockey royalty.
Quotes courtesy of nhl.com, mLive, Detroit Free Press, and DetroitRedWings.com, figures courtesy of Cap Friendly
Main Photo:
