The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have signed the 8th overall pick Marco Kasper to a three-year entry-level deal.
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today signed center Marco Kasper to a three-year entry-level contract.
Details: https://t.co/vVJsKO7RgS pic.twitter.com/M5LdldzZSX
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 13, 2022
Marco Kasper Signs With Red Wings
Kasper was inked by the Red Wings to a three-year deal that carries a cap hit of $950,000. His overall AAV will be $1,950,000 according to CapFriendly. He will also receive a schedule ‘A’ bonus.
Kasper spent this past season in the AHL with Rögle BK, where he put up 11 points in 46 points. He also spent some time with the Junior Rögle BK team, where he put up 13 points in 12 games. He also helped Rögle BK with the Champions Hockey League title this past year.
Kasper spent some time this season with Austria’s international teams, logging 2 points in 7 games in the World Juniors, and 6 points in 11 games in the World Championship.
This contract will take Kasper to the 2025 season, where he is eligible for an extension with Detroit.
What This Means
The Red Wings have now locked up their key prospect for the next three years, which is a good start. Now, the Red Wings can focus on developing him into a top-end talent at the NHL level. Steve Yzerman has been assembling a young and talented core with Lucas Raymond, Mortiz Seider and Filip Zadina. The Wings were also very busy on the first day of Free-Agency signing Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta.
It will take some time for him to adapt to the North American style of hockey, but it may not take long. European hockey uses a much larger rink and is a lot more spaced out compared to the North American product.
A benefit of Kasper is that he already has some championship experience, winning one of Europe’s top hockey prizes in the CHL title. Will this bring anything to the Red Wings currently? Probably not, but it’ll be useful experience as they get more and more competitive.
Kasper should provide some good centre depth out of the gate for the Red Wings. Hopefully, he develops quickly enough to where he can be a top-two centre for the team. But considering it is only development camp, he shouldn’t be rushed into the spot just yet. The Red Wings aren’t competitive yet so they should let him find his fit with the team first.
#NHLDraft2022 @DetroitRedWings select Marco Kasper 8th Overall pic.twitter.com/uCMrlUXduZ
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) July 8, 2022
