The Detroit Red Wings re-signed Chase Pearson to a 1-year, $917,831 contract, and the 24-year-old faces a pivotal season as the big center hopes to earn a spot on the Wings’ stacked fourth line, if not a spot on the roster as an extra forward.
As MLive’s Ansar Khan noted, Pearson would have to clear waivers to head to Grand Rapids, and he’d probably clear, but Pearson has some potential to serve as a fine checking center, despite having some hiccups last season.
Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offered the following take on Pearson’s potential, per Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon:
The Red Wings signed Pearson to a one-year contract Thursday, even though he didn’t have the kind of season he wanted in 2021-22. He posted seven goals and 18 points in 50 games last season.
“His numbers were down,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon said at his season-ending press conference. “He had a couple injuries that led to a little bit of his demise this year. But we’re not giving up on Chase Pearson.”
Unless there are njuries, Pearson will have difficulty making the Red Wings coming out of training camp. GM Steve Yzerman has 14 forwards, nine defensemen and two goalies already signed. That’s 25 veterans for a 23-person roster. That doesn’t include Joe Veleno who is still waiver-exempt and defenseman Simon Edvinsson who is expected to make the team.
The 6-foot-3 center did play three games with the Detroit Red Wings, averaging nine shifts per game. His playing time average was just under seven minutes.
“I thought Chase had a really good training camp,” Simon said. “Came out of the gates pretty strong. I think Chase would be first one to tell you he was disappointed with his year.”
Allen continues, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James took note that Pearson is something of a seven-year-old fossil from a terrible 2015 draft:
Chase Pearson, the last man standing from the Detroit Red Wings’ 2015 draft, is under contract for another year. Pearson, 25, has appeared in three games for the Wings, making his debut March 24 this past season. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound center played 50 games for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists).
Since being drafted seven years ago at No. 140, Pearson has played three seasons at University of Maine, serving two seasons as captain. He turned pro in 2019 and has emerged as a solid player for the Griffins and depth player for the Wings. He signed through 2022-23 for $917,831.
The Wings had six picks in 2015. They used their first one, at No. 19, on forward Evgeny Svechnikov. Svechnikov struggled to prove he belonged in the Wings’ lineup early in his career, and was setback in 2018-19 when he missed the entire season because of a knee injury.
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The next pick, defenseman Vili Saarijarvi at no. 73, never played in the NHL; he spent last season in Finland and has a contract to play next season in Switzerland.
Goaltender Joren Van Pottelberghe, No. 110, also never made it to the NHL, but back when he was drafted his agent was Claude Lemieux, and that prompted Lemieux and Kris Draper to speak for the first time, in 2016, since Lemieux shoved Draper into the boards in Game 6 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals, igniting a storied rivalry.
Defenseman Patrick Holway (No. 170) and forward Adam Marsh (No. 200) also never played in the Wings organization. Of the six players the Wings drafted in 2015, two appeared in the NHL, combining for 44 games in a Wings uniform.
