Andreas Athanasiou is the NHL's lone unsigned restricted free agent. (AP file photo)

Unsigned forward assessing options while skating in Switzerland

This week’s question and answer session with MLive readers is rated AAAA – All About Andreas Athanasiou. Even questions not directly about the unsigned forward for the Detroit Red Wings are in some way connected to him.

Athanasiou is skating with HC Lugano in Switzerland while assessing his options.

If he doesn’t sign with the Red Wings (or get an offer sheet with another NHL club, which seems unlikely) by Dec. 1 he won’t be eligible to play in the league this season.

He could sign in Russia – he reportedly has an offer from Avangard Omsk after Ak Bars Kazan withdrew its offer – but the KHL is one-third of the way through its season.

Signing with a Swiss club would earn him only a fraction of what he could make in the NHL. Maybe he'll sign there with an opt-out clause, enabling him to return to NHL this season.

Will the Red Wings get fed up and move him? They’re not going to trade him out of spite. They realize he has tremendous potential and would want a talented young player in return (top four defenseman or a similar forward). How many teams would be willing to move such a player and pay Athanasiou what he’s seeking?

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The Red Wings can afford to be patient in their dealings with Andreas Athanasiou. (MLive/Mike Mulholland)

Should Athanasiou be moved for a defense prospect?

Q: With the Wings and AA at a reported impasse, including AA entertaining playing hockey elsewhere for less money, wouldn't it be better to leverage AA's talent and try to poach a young defenseman from another team? Would AA to the Senators for young defensive prospect Thomas Chabot work? Or perhaps AA to the Kings for young defensive prospect Kale Clague? Both are very young, with top-pair ceilings or at least second-pair floors, and are behind quite a few defensemen. That being said, AA has NHL experience and has the speed and skill both teams are looking for on either wing or center. Plus, the Wings could sweeten the deal by also trading the Rangers' 2018 second-round pick they got in the Brendan Smith trade. -- Rich

A: The Red Wings shouldn't be in any hurry to move Athanasiou, and I don't believe they are.

His combination of speed and scoring ability are at premium in today's NHL and I think they'll continue to wait and hope he agrees to a deal.

If they elect to trade him I think it will happen closer to the Dec. 1 deadline or maybe even in the off-season. They'll only move him for what they feel is a good return -- young, established top-four defenseman or a proven young forward. I don't think they would deal him for a prospect who hasn't yet shown he can play in the league.

I doubt the club feels any urgency to trade him, even if it gets off to a slow start. Athanasiou has no leverage and is losing money. The pressure is on him, not the team.

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Andreas Athanasiou and the Red Wings remain about $600,000 apart in contract talks. (AP file photo)

It's likely about more than just the money

Q: Do you think there is more than just money to the Athanasiou situation? Do you think the way he was used last season (low minutes, healthy scratch) has something to do with the decision? Maybe he doesn't want to be a Red Wing? -- Chris

A: Yes, I believe it's more than money that's driving this stalemate. I think Athanasiou is concerned about his role. General manager Ken Holland assured Athanasiou that he'd play on one of the top three lines and on the power play, but that's not something you can guarantee long-term. That's dictated by his performance. And if coach Jeff Blashill felt, once again, that the young forward wasn't competing hard enough, he could see his ice time reduced, his power-play role taken away and perhaps even be scratched a game or two. I can't say whether Athanasiou wants to be a Red Wing, but his actions sure don't indicate he's crazy about the idea.

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Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said cap space is not the issue in contract talks with Andreas Athanasiou. (AP file photo)

It's not about the salary cap

Q: Is it possible general manager Ken Holland and coach Jeff Blashill prefer Athanasiou plays in the KHL or Switzerland, where he should receive more ice time than he would with the Wings? He can return during the season after Mr. Holland has resolved the cap issue with a trade or if several players are lost to injury. I cannot believe Mr. Holland does not see the need and the advantage of keeping Athanasiou in the Wings' organization. – Rod

A: Not at all. They want Athanasiou in the Red Wings lineup as soon as possible.

The stalemate has nothing to do with the cap. If the Red Wings were $5 million under the cap, they’d still be in the same predicament with Athanasiou because they feel he’s worth only $1.9 million a season on a two-year deal based on players of comparable age and statistics. Holland has said publicly that cap space isn't the issue, though many fans apparently don’t buy it and still think they’d offer him more (he’s seeking $2.5 million a season) if they had cap space to burn.

The Red Wings also are concerned that if they acquiesce to Athanasiou it would drive up the price for other young players, including Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, who are in the final year of their contracts.

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Sitting out the season would not bring Andreas Athanasiou any closer to arbitration eligibility. (AP file photo)

It would be more of the same next summer

Q: Does AA become unrestricted for the 2018-19 season if he doesn't play in the NHL this season? – Cam

A: No. The Red Wings would retain his rights and he would be in the same situation next summer – a restricted free agent with no arbitration rights. If he signs a one-year deal for this season he can take the club to arbitration in July.

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Justin Abdelkader is one of several Red Wings whose production declined in 2016-17. (AP file photo)

On ice time, salaries and plus-minus rating

Q: Why would we expect to be better than last year, if the coach returns to giving the worst players much more time than the best? Is any of that to help Holland justify their inflated salaries? Cannot be, for instance that (Riley) Sheahan and (Justin) Abdelkader are better defensively than (Martin) Frk, (Anthony) Mantha or (Dylan) Larkin. Check last year's plus-minus. AA is worth more than $1.2 million. Certainly, if you are paying (Luke) Glendening twice that to not score and be below average on the PK. – Bill

A: There is no correlation between ice time and salaries. Blashill determines ice time, lineups, lines, etc., with no interference from Holland. Sheahan and Abdelkader are better defensively than Frk, Mantha and Larkin. Plus-minus isn't the sole indicator of who's better defensively. But, I agree that Sheahan should have been scratched more often, his ice time reduced and not used on the power play during last season's struggles. Blashill thought otherwise. Athanasiou was offered $1.25 million on a one-year deal, lower annual salary than the two-year offer because the one season doesn't "buy" an arbitration-eligible season. Comparables suggest he is worth in the $2 million range.

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One MLive reader feels the Red Wings should have waived Petr Mrazek. (MLive/Mike Mulholland)

Someone's advocating mass waiver activity

Q: (Jared) Coreau was placed on waivers, cleared and sent to Grand Rapids. But would it have been possible to place Sheahan, (Petr) Mrazek, Glendening, (Darren) Helm on waivers, too, and if they were picked up the salary cap space the Wings wanted to clear would have been cleared and if not picked up just rostered back in Detroit? After all, it was supposed to be (Tomas) Nosek, not Frk, on that line and AA, not (David) Booth. – Bob

A: Yes, they could have waived those players and kept them in Detroit if they had cleared. Not sure why they'd want to risk losing any of them for nothing (they could have lost any one of them for nothing in the expansion draft, but that's different than just getting rid of someone). Only $1.05 million per player can be buried in the minors, the rest remains on the team's cap. It doesn't matter; they believe those players are better options this season than what they have in Grand Rapids. Nosek, claimed by Vegas, was projected to be the fourth-line center, not the second-line right wing. Booth, scratched in two of the first four games, plays on the fourth line; Athanasiou would have played a top-nine role.

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Riley Sheahan (above) might be moved if the Red Wings come to terms with Andreas Athanasiou. (MLive/Mike Mulholland)

Why not move Sheahan now?

Q: I don't understand why if teams want Riley Sheahan, Holland doesn't pull the trigger on a trade. If he has another bad season he's worthless at the end of the year to trade. If he has a good year the Wings are (not) going to be able to afford to sign him in any way with their salary cap situation and Larkin and Mantha waiting to be signed. … I would rather see (Ben) Street as the fourth-line center at this point. He plays PK great, wins face-offs, has speed and is affordable. Plus, he always looks like he is moving his feet and skating. Riley doesn't do anything well; he coasts, he is not that good at face-offs, doesn't check or win corner battles. Get something for him while they can! -- James

A: The Red Wings don't want to move him without knowing if Athanasiou will sign. They believe it would hurt their depth, though you and I'm sure many others disagree. If they don't need the cap space (they won't until Athanasiou agrees to a deal) and they're not going to get much in return for Sheahan, why give him away? If he returns to his form of previous seasons (14 goals in 2015-16, 36 points in 2014-15), that would help the team.

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Red Wings center Dylan Larkin is up for a new contract after this season. (AP file photo)

Lack of cap space a concern next season?

Q: I think it is safe to say the Red Wings have a salary problem. A lot of long deals with players that are hurting us. How are the Wings going to be able to sign guys like Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha next summer? The (Tomas) Tatar deal really seems like it is hurting us now, especially, with Athanasiou not signed yet. The only two salaries I see that expire at the end of this coming season are (Mike) Green and Mrazek. I can't imagine this team is going to make the playoffs, but is that the only way for the Wings to re-sign those two guys is by trading the aforementioned? – Steve

A: You can argue Tatar is making slightly more than he should at $5.3 million per season, but not it's not outrageous, based on Gustav Nyquist's salary ($4.75 million). And Tatar's deal has absolutely nothing to do with Athanasiou being unsigned. Even if Tatar had signed for $4.5 million, giving the Red Wings an additional $800,000 to play with, they'd still be in the same predicament with Athanasiou because, like I stated earlier, the club doesn't believe a player with 27 goals and 43 points in 101 games is worth more than $1.9 million per season, regardless of his huge potential.

They’ll be able to offer Larkin and Mantha fair-market value. No concern there. They obviously are building blocks for the future and priorities to keep in the fold. They’ll have ample cap space for those signings and other moves (signing Frk and Tyler Bertuzzi) if Green and Mrazek are off the books ($10 million combined).