The Red Wings have made it clear to restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou: They want him on their roster this season, a stance that becomes even stronger with the team playing well to open the year.



On Monday, the Red Wings had a conference call with Athanasiou and his agent Darren Ferris that included multiple people from the organization, expressing exactly what his role would be and articulating why the two-year offer is where it currently is.



They’ve also sweetened the one-year offer a tad from the $1.25 million that was already on the table in an attempt to get him into the mix in the short term.



With the Red Wings in Toronto on Wednesday, Detroit GM Ken Holland and Ferris met briefly in person again to chat about getting a deal done.



Ultimately, the Red Wings want the 23-year-old playing hockey and continuing his development. If it’s not going to be in Detroit soon, the team is okay with it happening in Europe, for a couple of...