Ansar Khan has reported that the Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman Doug Janik to a 2-year deal and officially gave Jason Williams the cold shoulder.
Janik spent most of last season in Grand Rapids and contributed no goals and two assists in 13 games with the Red Wings. GM Ken Holland describes Janik as a stay at home defenseman that will kill penalties and provide the Wings some depth on the blue line. The contract is a two-way deal the first year, and a one-way deal the second. He’s 30 years old, so next year is probably his last chance to make it with the big club.
Things are not going so well on the Todd Bertuzzi front however. Holland confirmed that the Wings are having a more difficult time than expected to get a deal done with the big guy:
“We have interest in him coming back. I think he’s interested in coming back,” Holland said. “But it’s a cap world. We only have so much to offer.”
If the Wings can’tget Bertuzzi under contract by the time free agency rolls around on July 1, the Wings will look for a replacement. The consensus around Red Wings nation is that Bertuzzi should be brought back, but it appears that Bertuzzi isn’t as willing to take a pay cut as we all thought he would be.
On the unsurprising front, Jason Williams was told he would not be brought back. Williams missed 38 games with a broken fibula and didn’t contribute much when he came back anyway. Jiri Hudler will be taking his place on the roster and is more than capable of filling his role.
