Red Wings restricted free agent forward Joe Veleno spoke with RDS.ca’s Jean-Christophe Bertrand on Monday night via Zoom, discussing the Jeff Petry trade as it applies to the Canadiens adding Gustav Lindstrom, as well as his own contract negotiations with the Wings. What follows is roughly translated from French:
Joe Veleno gives a portrait of Lindstrom
With the trade sending Jeff Petry to the Detroit Red Wings, our colleague Jean-Christophe Bertrand spoke with forward Joe Veleno, who knows the defender obtained in return by the Montreal Canadiens, Gustav Lindstrom, very well.
The 23-year-old forward has been around Lindstrom since joining the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2019-2020 season. During the last two seasons, he’s also played in his company in Detroit.
The former Saint John Sea Dogs (of the QMJHL) forward had good words to say about the 24-year-old Swede.
“He’s super nice, he’s a good guy in the locker room. He works hard on the ice. He’s still a defenseman, he’s smart and uses his stick well. He’s not necessarily ‘flashy’ with a lot of attacking, but he can contribute if the opportunity arises,” Veleno said.
“I was with him for three years and I know he always wants to improve. He’s a really good guy and good player,” he added of the player who had 8 points in 36 games last year with the Wings.
Petry’s arrival adds to a series of moves which the Red Wings hope will yield a return to the playoffs as soon as possible, given that they’ve not been there since 2016.
“We want to be competitive and I think we’re close to the playoffs. We were a surprising team last year. There have been veteran additions, we continue to add a little more depth this year, and a star with (Alex) DeBrincat,” said Veleno, also naming in passing the arrivals of David Perron and Ben Chiarot, who played with the team last season.
On a personal level, Veleno is still looking for a contract as he is a restricted free agent. He isn’t too worried about the situation as the start of training camp draws near.
“We continue to negotiate and that’s our situation. We hope to have an agreement soon. There’s no rush as I’m the only player left to sign in Detroit. We’ll take it day by day and we’ll see,” he suggested.
“I think that last year, I took another step in my game. I improved in a lot of aspects of my game. I worked on what they told me to work on, and I want to continue to grow next year. I feel like I can be on yet another level. It’s a big year for me, and I’m ready for what’s to come,” he said.
In 81 games with the Red Wings in the 2022-2023 season, Veleno recorded 9 goals and 20 points.
