Vegas expansion choice of Tomas Nosek a bad outcome for Red Wings

Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Success of the Griffins' Bertuzzi-Nosek-Frk line Grand Rapids Griffins Tyler Bertuzzi, Martin Frk, Tomas Nosek, Todd Nelson and Jared Coreau talk after the Griffins clinch the 2017 Calder Cup championship Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at Van Andel Arena. Video by Helene St. James, DFP.

Vegas’ choice in the NHL expansion draft does not reflect well on the Detroit Red Wings.

The Golden Knights selected Tomas Nosek, a move that was made official Wednesday evening during the NHL Awards show and reported earlier by the Free Press. Nosek’s departure from the franchise shines a bright light on just how many Wings are underperforming, especially in view of their contracts.

Goaltender Petr Mrazek, who a year ago was the Wings’ goalie of the future, was available to Vegas. So were forwards Riley Sheahan, Darren Helm and Luke Glendening.

Instead the Golden Knights went with a forward who was never drafted and has 17 NHL games to his credit. Nosek, 24, is coming off a standout Calder Cup winning season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, with a team-leading 10 goals and 22 points in 19 playoff games.

His departure offers the Wings no salary cap relief, deprives them of a prospect who has size and showed tenacity during an 11-game stretch in Detroit this past season, and leaves them with a potentially problematic situation to resolve in goal.

The fact the Wings exposed Mrazek rather than Jimmy Howard reveals the organization no longer sees Mrazek as the future. He has lost the starting job two years running, and lost it twice this past season. He is coming off a career-worst season that saw him finish with a 3.04 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 50 games. At the World Championship, he was so mediocre (2.47 goals-against average, .881 save percentage) the Czechs didn’t use him in their quarterfinal. Unlike when Jimmy Howard slumped in years past, Mrazek did not put in the extra work after practices and failed to show up during a late-season optional morning skate, leading to questions about his maturity and attitude.

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Now the Wings have to see whether they can move him to one of the few teams still in need of a goaltender, such as Arizona, Philadelphia or Winnipeg. Mrazek has a year left on his contract, at $4 million. The Wings may gamble that training camp/exhibition season will open a bigger window to trade Mrazek. If not, they will have three goalies — Howard, Mrazek and Jared Coreau — competing for two jobs. All three require waivers to be sent to the minors, and Coreau is coming off a Calder Cup championship.

That Sheahan did not entice Vegas is something. He had an appallingly bad 2016-17 season, going 81 games before scoring twice and finishing with just 13 points and a minus-29 rating. But he is 6-foot-3, 226 pounds, 25 years old, and makes just $2.1 million next season. He is a year removed from showing he can score in the 12-goal range, hinting last season was more of an aberration.

Helm, 30, was a long shot, given his history of injury, his meager production (17 points in 50 games) and salary (signed through 2020-21 at a $3.85-million cap hit). Luke Glendening, 28, also is signed through 2020-21, at a $1.8-million cap hit, and finished last season with 14 points and a minus-10 in 74 games. Ouellet, 23, is smart and sound defensively, a restricted free agent and just 23. Vegas had many other defensemen from which to choose. Bottom line for the Wings: They lose a prospect, gain no tangible salary cap space (Nosek makes $612,500 in 2017-18) and are left to untangle their goaltending problems.

Bottom line for the Wings: They lose a prospect, gain no tangible salary cap space (Nosek’s makes $612,500 in 2017-18) and are left to untangle their goaltending problems.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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