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Pavel Datsyuk Rumors Link Him With Return To Detroit

Pavel-Datsyuk-Rumors-Link-Him-With-Return-To-Detroit

If recent rumors are to be believed, Pavel Datsyuk could be heading back to North America from his current stint in his Russian homeland. The former NHL star left the Detroit Red Wings almost three years ago and is reportedly interested in heading back to the Motor City. But according to the player’s agent Dan Milstein, fans shouldn’t get too carried away with the hearsay.

It’s true that Datsyuk’s contract with St. Petersburg in the KHL is about to run out, but he’s going to turn 41 years old this summer. The native of Yekaterinburg feels he still has what it takes to compete at the top level and the only NHL team that interests him is apparently the Red Wings.

The high-scoring forward left these shores after the 2015/16 NHL campaign with one season remaining on his contract in Detroit. With Datsyuk’s deal taking up quite a bit of salary-cap space, the team decided to free some of it up by trading him to the Arizona Coyotes in June, 2016 in a swap that included draft picks. So technically, the Coyotes own his rights until the first day of July when free agency kicks in. ‘The Magic Man’ will then be able to negotiate with any of the NHL teams regarding a return to the league.

The Red Wings have kept mom on the situation since Datsyuk’s contract belongs to Arizona and any public comments could be construed as tampering. There’s no doubt the Datsyuk of old would bring a lot to Little Casesars Arena, but what will an old Datsyuk bring the team?

During his 14-year career in the NHL, Datsyuk exhibited exceptional offensive skills and also managed to take care of his defensive duties. He was an elite two-way center who took the Frank J. Selke Trophy home three times as the NHL’s best defensive forward and captured the Lady Byng four times for his sportsmanship. He left with 953 career regular-season games under his belt in which he produced 314 goals and 604 assists for 918 points. Datsyuk also showed up in the playoffs as his 42 goals and 113 points in 157 outings helped Detroit hoist the Stanley Cup in 2001/02 and 2007/08.

Datsyuk has been pretty consistent since returning to the KHL with 103 points in 126 games, but the KHL season is just over half as long as an NHL campaign. It’s hard to predict how he’ll handle the rigours of an 82-game schedule at his age.

And even if Datsyuk is serious about resuming his NHL career will Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland be interested in welcoming him back to the fold?

Well, the club’s in a rebuilding mode at the moment and that’s one of the reasons it’s been hanging around the league’s basement for most of 2018/19. Their top forwards are youngsters such as Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou with several prospects including Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina. A few veterans may be dealt before the trade deadline including forwards Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek, defenseman Niklas Kronwall and netminder Jimmy Howard.

If some of the oldtimers leave town, Holland may want to add an experienced mentor such as Datsyuk. But there may only be so many roster spots open up front next season, especially if Detroit gets lucky in the draft lottery and lands forward Jack Hughes. The team’s salary cap situation would also need to be looked at. So even though he may have his heart set on returning to the Red Wings, the organization may politely turn down Datsyuk’s request.

Therefore, will Datsyuk still want to return to the NHL if he has to play with one of the league’s other 30 teams? There are probably several other squads which would seriously consider signing him, but what makes the most sense, joining a rebuilding team or a playoff contender? As mentioned a little earlier, the club would also need salary cap space to sign him. He wouldn’t be playing for free and could be hoping to land a deal in the range of $3 to $5 million a year. He wouldn’t be the first ageing player to return to the NHL from the KHL and land a decent contract since Jaromir Jagr and Ilya Kovalchuk paved the way.

It’s hard to predict how much Datsyuk has left in the tank, but if he somehow managed to play a full 82-game season he’s likely to chip in with at least 40 points. However, if Holland does decide to negotiate with the player he’ll be doing so for his leadership qualities and experience rather than point total.

Datsyuk originally returned home to spend more time with his daughter and play in his homeland once again before retiring. His daughter’s now three years older and he may have had his share of the Russian culture for the time being. It’s understandable he’d like to finish his career in the NHL and he may feel he owes the Red Wings something for skipping out with a year to go on his contract.

His chances of playing in the NHL next season are probably 50/50 right now especially if it’s Detroit or nothing. Datsyuk’s pay scale will be one of the deciding factors for sure as will the state of the Red Wings. The picture will become clearer once the trade deadline has passed and Holland sees who’s left standing. If he most of the veterans are shipped out he’ll likely look for at least one to provide some mentoring to his young roster and that could be Datsyuk.

The draft lottery may also effect the situation, but who better to guide a promising young star such as Jack Hughes than an old warhorse like Datsyuk?

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