Red Wings Forward Frans Nielsen Remains Snakebit

How do you trade a player with a significant cap hit after his value has plummeted?  It’s precisely what Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman will have to try and figure out regarding forward Frans Nielsen.

It’s not exactly how you’d like to impress your new boss.  Usually, when a new boss rolls into your place of employment, you try your best to show your worth in one way or another hoping they still see you as the valuable piece your previous boss did. For one Detroit Red Wings forward, it’s been anything but a good start under new management.

For Frans Nielsen, it’s been a season to forget.  He’s failed to record a single point throughout his first 18 games of the season.  He’s not known for his goal-scoring capabilities, but he has scored 20 or more twice in his career.

He’s a product that Ken Holland way overpaid for in free agency.  He was signed in the summer of 2016 by the Holland led Detroit Red Wings, and it seems his best days were long gone.  Sometimes players produce their best statistical seasons during a contract year. That same year Holland also extended free agent Darren Helm to a ludicrous deal as well.

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Playing for that next deal always seems to motivate professional athletes.  It’s not that difficult to understand, the harder, better you play before you hit the open market can often land a player millions more per season.  That’s enough to motivate anyone.

Before Ken Holland handing out the 6 year $31.5 million contract, Nielsen produced 20 goals and added 32 helpers.  It was statistically the second-best year of his career.  It came at the perfect time because nearly immediately after signing the deal, he began to regress.

Nielsen is smack dab in the middle of his contract that pays him a whopping $5.25 million per season.  That being said, he’s expected to produce offensively on a regular basis.  He makes to much money to just be a fringe fourth-line skater, but that’s all he’s been.

He’s averaging just 13:22 TOI per night, a career-low since he’s become an NHL regular.  The Detroit Red Wings struggle to score as it is, and they’ve got nearly $10-million tied up in Nielsen & Justin Abdelkader.

So what does Steve Yzerman do?  He could try and package a player with some value and making a team-friendly salary such as Andreas Athanasiou into a deal with Nielsen.  Perhaps the Detroit Red Wings could eat half of Nielsen’s salary in a move; at least that would free up a bit of cap space and allow a young player to have his roster spot.

Nielsen recorded 33, 35 points respectively in each of his last two seasons.  At this point, it looks like Nielsen will struggle to make it to 20 points on the season.  What a disaster.