Aaron Ward tweeted out a little tidbit this morning stating that he expects the Red Wings to make an announcement tomorrow regarding Pavel Datsyuk:
Expect Detroit Red Wings to make announcement tomorrow along with Pavel Datsyuk confirming he will not be returning next year.
— Aaron Ward (@NHL_AaronWard) June 17, 2016
We knew that the Red Wings and Pavel Datsyuk were finally meeting today to speak one last time about the final decision regarding if the 14-year NHL veteran would return for his last season on contract. I think all Red Wings fans saw this coming, but it’s still going to sting.
The question now, is if general manager Ken Holland can move Pavel Datsyuk’s $7.5 million cap hit to a team who needs to get above the cap floor. We’ve seen teams like Chicago and Florida pay valuable assets just to move money around. The difference for the Red Wings and Datsyuk’s contract is that whoever takes on the cap hit will not be paying actual money, they’ll just be stuck with the cap hit. The Red Wings will no doubt have to dish up an asset to get rid of the money, rumors have been hovering around players like Tomas Jurco or Teemu Pulkkinen. Time will tell.
