Red Wings sign Vladislav Namestnikov to a 2-year contract

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Namestnikov agrees to terms with Detroit

Center has played 425 games with Tampa Bay, NY Rangers, Ottawa and Colorado

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today agreed to terms with center Vladislav Namestnikov on a two-year contract.

Namestnikov, 27, was originally drafted in the first round (27th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lighting and spent parts of five seasons with the team from 2013-18. The 6-foot, 183-pound forward has totaled 425 NHL games between the Lightning, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, registering 189 points (83-106-189) and 227 penalty minutes. Namestnikov played for three teams in 2019-20, appearing in two games with the Rangers prior to a trade to Ottawa, where he tallied 25 points (13-12-25) in 54 games before he was moved to Colorado at the trade deadline. With the Avalanche, he recorded six points (4-2-6) in nine regular-season games and added five points (4-1-5) in 12 playoff games. Namestnikov is two years removed from his most productive NHL campaign, when he picked up 48 points (22-26-48) in 81 games between the Lightning and Rangers in 2017-18. He also skated in 134 American Hockey League games with the Syracuse Crunch, recording 104 points (40-64-104) and 84 penalty minutes and making the 2015 AHL All-Star Game.

Born in Zhukovskiy, Russia, Namestnikov spent part of his childhood in Michigan and has multiple family members with NHL connections, including his father, Evgeny Namestnikov, who played 43 NHL games with Vancouver, NY Islanders and Nashville between 1993-00, and his uncle, Vyacheslav Kozlov, a member of the Russian Five who played for Detroit from 1992-01 and totaled 1,182 NHL games until 2009-10. Prior to turning professional, Namestnikov racked up 139 points (52-87-139), a plus-27 rating and 99 penalty minutes in 131 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, winning an OHL championship in 2012. On the international stage, Namestnikov has represented Russia at multiple international tournaments, most notably winning a bronze medal at the 2017 IIHF World Championship after picking up six points (3-3-6) in 10 games.

Vladislav Namestnikov, Center

Born Nov 22 1992 — Zhukovskiy, Russia

Height 6.00 — Weight 183 — Shoots L

Selected by Tampa Bay Lightning round 1 #27 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Per MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman continued adding to the roster on Sunday, signing center Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year deal at a $2 million cap hit.

Namestnikov, 27, played for three teams last season (Rangers, Ottawa, Colorado) and tallied 17 goals and 14 assists in 65 games.

Here’s more from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Vladislav Namestnikov grew up rooting for the Detroit Red Wings, and now will be able to realize a childhood dream and play for them.

The Wings announced Sunday they signed Namestnikov, 27, for two years, $4 million, adding yet another forward who projects to help them in the scoring department. 

Namestnikov played for Wings GM Steve Yzerman in Tampa Bay, and reached 20 goals in 2017-18. He split 2019-20 between the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, recording 17 goals and 14 assists in 63 games. A former first-round pick (27th, 2011), Namestnikov has 83 goals and 106 assists in 425 career NHL games. 

Namestnikov is the nephew of former Wings forward Slava Kozlov, his mother’s brother. Namestnikov’s family lives in the metro Detroit area. 

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also weighed in:

Namestnikov, 27, is the nephew of former Red Wing Slava Kozlov, is represented by local agent Dan Milstein, and lives in the Detroit area (also lived in the area as a youth).

Namestnikov (6-foot, 183 pounds) was drafted in the first round of the 2011 Entry Draft by current Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman in Tampa, when Yzerman managed the Lightning.

With the New York Rangers, Ottawa and Colorado last season, Namestnikov had 17 goals and 14 assists in 65 games. Namestnikov had five points (four goals, one assist) in 12 playoff games with the Avalanche.

In 425 NHL games, Namestnikov has 83 goals and 106 assists.

Namestnikov’s father, Evgeny, also played in 43 NHL games (1993-2000).

Per TSN:

Namestnikov, 27, registered 17 goals and 31 points in 65 games last season split between the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche. He added four goals and one assist in 12 playoff games in the NHL’s Return to Play as the Avalanche were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Dallas Stars.

Originally drafted in the first round (27th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2011 NHL Draft, Namestnikov spent five seasons with the Lightning before being dealt to the Rangers. He registered a career-high 22 goals and 48 points in 81 games in 2017-18 split between Tampa Bay and New York.

The Russian forward has 83 goals and 189 points in 425 career NHL games.

Great analysis from Adam Gretz of Pro Hockey Talk:

He is not a game-changer by any means, but he is a solid veteran that brings some talent to a team that badly needs it on a cheap price. Beyond that, he also gives the Red Wings another potential trade chip to use at the deadline to acquire more draft pick assets. The Red Wings already own nine draft picks in the 2021 class (including three second-rounders) and there is no reason to think they wouldn’t be able to flip him for another one.

Namestnikov was traded twice this past season, each time for a fourth-round pick.

The Red Wings’ offseason has been all about adding solid, veteran players on smaller contracts that could potentially boost their value. Along with Namestnikov, the Red Wings have also added Bobby Ryan, Troy Stecher, Jon Merrill, and Thomas Greiss on short-term deals.

Those five players come in at a salary cap figure of around $9 million combined. They should not only get a solid return on that investment on the ice, there is the potential for some draft pick capital to come back in future trades. Smart moves for a rebuilding team.

2019-20 #RedWings on pace to win about 20 in 82GP

pace of 25+ possible, with yzerman’s changes

he also provides for gathering more draft picks, AND clearing roster of some of these transitional players, as #RedWings emerge playoff contenders 2022-23ish

TURNING CORNER, REBUILD!— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 11, 2020

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.