Red Wings Re-sign Teemu Pulkkinen To One-Year Deal

The Detroit Red Wings offseason has been outstanding, signing Mike Green and Brad Richards. Today the Wings put the cherry on top, and signed one of their own Temmu Pulkkinen.

Pulkkinen was a standout at the AHL level,Pulkkinen won the AHL scoring title last year he only played 46 games in Grand Rapids.

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He spent 31 games with Detroit last year, scoring five goals and had eight points. Pulkkinen looked a little uneasy, not used to the pace of play in the NHL. However, Detroit has signed him to a one-year, waiver exempt deal, meaning he’ll be with the big club.

Temmu Pulkkinen has watched a few of his former teammates translate their success from the AHL to the NHL in Nyquist and Tatar, so it will be interesting to see how Pulkkinen performs next year.

Next year, Pulkkinen will be up for a new contract if he performs he will get a hefty raise. He’ll still be a Restricted Free Agent next year.

The talent of Temmu Pulkkinen is uncanny, he has a wicked shot that will translate well to the NHL. Now it’s just translating the rest of his game to the NHL that might be the problem.

Pulkkinen isn’t big, at 5’10 and 185 pounds. Pulkkinen’s frame isn’t massive, but we’ve seen players like Johnny Gaudreau and Tyler Johnson use their frame to gain an advantage with their speed.

Hockey Future did a Scouting Report on Pulkkinen detailing what he’ll bring, and what he needs to work on.

"Talent AnalysisPulkkinen has first-class, high end talent with a very dangerous shot, as it is both heavy and accurate. He also has a very quick release. Pulkkinen has some playmaking skills to go with his scoring ability. He is not the best skater but makes up for it with his ability to hang onto the puck. His defensive awareness is spotty at times, not uncommon for young players who were dominant scorers at the junior levels.FuturePulkkinen has the offensive game to play professionally and has dominated at the AHL level in his first two seasons in North America. He projects as a future NHL forward who can score consistently providing he continues to develop the supplementary areas of his game."

It will be interesting to see how Temmu Pulkkinen looks next year as he’ll be with the big club.

What do you think? Is Pulkkinen the next great Red Wing?