Detroit Red Wings: Three players Ken Holland might like in Edmonton
By Bob Heyrman
Darren Helm is another forward Kenny coveted in Detroit. He’s a player that could fit in with the Oilers.
The former Detroit Red Wings Manager absolutely loved Darren Helm. Helm was expected to be Kris Draper 2.0 and to be completely honest he’s a bit more gifted offensively but not enough to tip the scales in his favor over Draper. Draper was incredibly valuable as a checking center who had the ability to shut down the opponents top line. Helm is reliable defensively but doesn’t impact the game in the way Draper did.
Helm has two more seasons remaining on his five-year deal worth 19.25-million dollar deal that averages 3.85-million per season. Helm is often injured, it’s become one of the more frustrating occurrences in Detroit. It’s become more when will he be hurt rather than if he will be injured. In fact, Helm hasn’t been able to play an entire season since 2010-11.
Similar to Luke Glendening, but a bit more expensive Darren Helm would help fill out the bottom of the Oilers roster also providing Ken Holland with a familiar face. It won’t shock me if Holland does try to obtain Helm.
Helm played in 61 games this past season recording only 7 goals, 10 assists to total a mere 17 points. He was a minus -11 on the year averaging 14:35 TOI per night with a CF% well below average at 47.2%. If Holland does call and even hints towards Helm, Yzerman would be foolish not to take whatever the offer is as long as it’s not a bad Oilers contract, of course, just to get him off the books.