Friedman: Red Wings settle with Adam Erne, 2 years, $4.2 million total

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman delivers good news this Sunday morning:

Adam Erne and DET settle at 2x$2.1M AAV— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 15, 2021

I guess we’re all weighing in on the Erne deal per @FriedgeHNIC, and I have no problem with it.

$2.1 million is more or less market value for a player who is essentially the modern-day piano-puller.

Yzerman’s been a little generous this summer, but that’s fine with me.— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 15, 2021

Update: It’s official:

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today agreed to terms with left wing Adam Erne on a two-year contract. pic.twitter.com/QY0LOzanZj— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 15, 2021

Update #2: WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. weighs in:

Erne, 26, has signed on for a reported $2.1 million a season. He had filed for salary arbitration but then settled with the Red Wings on the two-year deal. It’s a low-risk signing for Steve Yzerman, yet again, and this might be one of his best.

To call someone a “heart-and-soul” player is a bit of a cliche, sure, but Erne has that kind of style about him. One moment he’s back-checking hard through the neutral zone, the next he’s finishing around the net in a beautiful play for a goal, showing off his hands and reminding us that he did in fact score 41 goals in his final season with the Quebec Remparts. He scored 11 goals in 45 games played for the offensively-challenged Red Wings this past season, enough to lead the group. He earned himself more ice time in Jeff Blashill’s lineup as the season unfolded.

This is the kind of depth player NHL teams need, and Yzerman knows it better than most. They need players who can fit into several roles when called upon. Erne can be placed on the 1st or 4th-line and be effective in either a scoring or shutdown role, or both. He could be described as a “complete” forward in this league of 200-foot players.

My first observation of Adam Erne, quite frankly, is that the man has a very large head. Abnormally large.

He also plays hockey fairly well :P— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 15, 2021

Update #3: Here’s the Erne presser from the Wings:

DETROIT AGREES TO TWO-YEAR DEAL WITH ADAM ERNE
… Winger Posted Breakout Offensive Season in 2020-21 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today agreed to terms with left wing Adam Erne on a two-year contract.

Erne, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in his second campaign in Detroit, placing among Red Wings leaders with 11 goals (T1st), nine assists (T5th), 26 penalty minutes (T3rd), three power-play goals (T1st), six power-play points (T2nd), 71 shots on goal (9th), a 15.5 shooting percentage (5th) and 82 hits (1st). His 20 points in 45 games tied his career high, set in 2018-19 with Tampa Bay over 65 games, and quadrupled the offensive point total (5) from his first season with the Red Wings in 11 fewer games. Erne also posted Detroit’s longest point streak of the season, spanning eight games from April 1-15 and making him just the seventh Red Wings player to log a point streak of eight-or-more games over the last 10 seasons. In five NHL seasons with the Red Wings and Lightning, the 6-foot-1, 212-pound winger has totaled 52 points (26-26-52) and 116 penalty minutes in 215 games.

Originally drafted in the second round (33rd overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Erne began his professional career by skating in 150 American Hockey League games with the Syracuse Crunch, totaling 88 points (41-47-88) and 156 penalty minutes between 2013-18. Prior to turning pro, Erne suited up for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Quebec Remparts from 2011-15, totaling 275 points (118-157-275) in 240 games. In his final season of junior hockey, he tallied a junior career-best 86 points (41-45-86) and 102 penalty minutes, while adding 30 points (21-9-30) in 22 postseason contests en route to capturing the President’s Cup with Quebec as the QMJHL champions and winning the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the postseason’s most-valuable player. The New Haven, Conn., native has also represented Team USA on the international stage at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, totaling seven points (5-2-7) in nine games between the two tournaments.

BIG ERN! ? @Adamerne73 x #LGRW pic.twitter.com/h0w71X5iUT— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 15, 2021

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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.