In addition to adding players slated for the Detroit Red Wings, general manager Steve Yzerman used free agency to add organizational depth.
Defenseman Mark Pysyk, a veteran of 521 NHL games, was signed for one year, $850,000. Center Austin Czarnik received a two-year, $1.525 million contract and right wing Matt Luff was signed for a one year, $750,000.
Yzerman made a splash on opening day of free agency Wednesday, signing forwards Andrew Copp, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik, and defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä.
MORE HSJ: Why Detroit appealed to free agents: ‘Steve Yzerman builds good teams’
Pysyk, 30, has played 10 NHL seasons, accumulating 104 points and 162 penalty minutes for the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. .The 6-feett-1, 198-pounder most recently played for the Sabres, recording 12 points in 68 games last season. He projects to be a good veteran for the Grand Rapids Griffins and a depth guy in case of injury for the Wings.
A Detroit native, Czarnik played four seasons at Miami University from 2011-15 before turning professional. Czarnik, 29, has appeared in 142 NHL games (45 points, minus-7 rating) since 2016-17, playing for the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken.
Luff, 25, split the 2021-22 season between the Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals. The 6-2, 196-pound winger recorded six points in 23 games with the Predators. Luff has 23 points and a minus-8 rating in 87 career NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Predators.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NHL free agency: Detroit Red Wings add minor-league depth
