PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 29: Dennis Cholowski #21 of the Detroit Red Wings looks on after the game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on November 29, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Red Wings 6-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The Detroit Red Wings and Steve Yzerman kept everyone guessing until late in the afternoon. While every other organization seemingly had their choices from Seattle leak, no one apparently was going to cross Yzerman and reveal anything.
Until about 30 minutes ago:
Cholowski was one of the four believed to be targeted by Seattle and it is certainly one that makes a lot of sense for a number of reasons. Cholowski never really caught on in Detroit and even his selection back in 2016 was considered to be either a home run or a nice try. For Seattle, he provides depth and can maybe have less pressure to “hit” and be eased into what could be a better situation.
The offensive minded defenseman was shuttled back and forth between Grand Rapids and Detroit this season before getting some more time with the big club near the end of the year. But it wasn’t enough to put him on the protected list, especially after the Red Wings acquired Nick Leddy last Friday. I actually hoped it would give him a better shot with the team, but in this case, it’ll never be known.
The selection of Cholowski is the first of many moves that will follow as Yzerman has a number of choices to make with both UFAs and RFAs. Jonathan Bernier will be dipping his toe into free agency while the Red Wings will be determining who else to bring back while figuring out which players will they can bring in from the outside.
As for Cholowski, here’s hoping the young man will finally have a true shot at reaching his potential. There was always the hope that he would become a top four pairing but it never materialized for a number of reasons–chief being that he just never seemed to fit what head coach Jeff Blashill was looking for. The writing seemed on the wall for some time and with Seattle taking Cholowski out of Detroit, it’s a chance for the youngster to start anew and have the opportunity to break in elsewhere.
In the meantime, can we call agree that Detroit “winning” the Expansion Draft in terms of keeping it under lock and key was one of the best moments of the wait?
Rosters unfreeze tomorrow at 1pm.