Detroit Red Wings: Luke Witkowski Signed to Two-Year Deal

The second of two deals the Detroit Red Wings made on Saturday was the signing of Luke Witkowski to a two-year contract.

Witkowski will join the Red Wings on a two-year deal worth $750,000.

The 27-year-old was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning during his career thus far. He had four points in 34 appearances in the 2016-17 season. Additionally, he spent time with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League, with five points in 19 games played.

This past season was the most playing time Witkowski has received at the National Hockey League level. He has spent the majority of his career in the AHL since the 2013-14 season.

Ansar Khan of MLive.com is reporting that this is it for free agency signings for the Red Wings.

Witkowski is a native of Holland, Michigan and played for Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill at Western Michigan.

Red Wings fans will remember Witkowski from his fight with Anthony Mantha at the end of March in a game against the Lightning. He is a big player that doesn’t get pushed around a lot. As Helen St. James of the Detroit Free Press mentioned in the tweet above, Witkowski can play as a forward too, which plays into another need the Wings had.

With Witkowski, the Red Wings get two positional needs in a big forward and defenseman. He can play both roles but it remains to be seen which position he spends the majority of the season at.

Next: Trevor Daley Signs with the Red Wings

The Red Wings free agency deals came to a close not even an hour into the signing period. Salary cap space prevented the organization from going after other players. Another forward or defenseman signing could have bolstered the roster a bit more but one never knows if a trade may be on the cards later in the season.