Yahoo Sports Canada’s Anthony Petrielli discusses “the 5 best moves” of the unrestricted free agent period (thus far), and the Red Wings actually earn a nod for their acquiring and then signing of one Klim Kostin:
Red Wings acquire, then sign Klim Kostin: One of the most unheralded trades last season was the Blues and Oilers‘ October swap of Dmitri Samorukov for Klim Kostin. It wasn’t until mid-November that Kostin got into the Oilers lineup, and it wasn’t until Dec. 1 that he actually got a point. He never really looked back from there, putting up 21 points in 50 games through to the end of the season, and bringing some real physicality along the way. He fought four times during the season and once more in the playoffs and laid a number of big, heavy hits.
In the playoffs, he also put up five points in 12 games, though he wasn’t even playing eight minutes per contest. He showed he can be a physical contributor, capable of changing games with energy shifts and chipping in double-digit goal totals. Drafted 31st overall in 2017, the 24-year-old is finally looking like a player putting it together, but he was caught in a cap crunch and was packaged with Kailer Yamamoto (who later signed with Seattle), in a trade to Detroit.
The Red Wings then signed Kostin to a two-year, $4-million deal. If he stays the same — a 10-plus goal scorer that hits and fights some — he’s worth that contract. If his game continues to improve basically at all, it’s a bargain. When the contract expires, he will still be an RFA, to boot.
The Red Wings have signed a number of questionable contracts over the past two offseasons that carry all sorts of risk, but this one is relatively risk-free with really only upside here. Adding Kostin’s game to their lineup that features quite a bit of skill should be a welcome addition to the group, and gives them all sorts of options to move him around their forward lines.
Continued; Kostin also spoke with on YouTube with the “Cherkas Atlant” channel, but you might not get much out of it unless you speak Russian:
