Updated at 11:58 PM: Via TSN:
🖊: Austin Watson has accepted a Professional Tryout Offer with the @DetroitRedWings for training camp ahead of the 2024-2025 @NHL season.#WDSE #NHL #RedWings #AustinWatson pic.twitter.com/rARB6w3FnH
— WD Sports & Entertainment (@WD_sportsagency) August 28, 2024
Quoting TSN:
The 32-year-old American spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring two goals and two assists over 33 games.
Watson has scored 60 goals and 58 assists over 515 career games with the Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators and Lightning. He has 10 goals and nine assists over 45 career playoffs games, all with Nashville.
The left winger was originally selected 18th overall by Preds in 2010 and spent a decade with the franchise before joining the Sens in 2020.
Watson is coming off a one-year, $776,665 contract.
Watson stands at 6’4″ and 205 pounds, and in his last full season with Ottawa, he posted 123 penalty minutes in 75 games.
He’s being brought in as a deterrent, most likely.
Update: The Detroit News posted something of a profile of Watson…
A former first round pick in 2010, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound winger has scored 60 goals with 58 assists for 118 points in 515 career games with the Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last year, Watson signed a one-year contract with the Lightning after attending training camp on a similar PTO contract. He had two goals and two assists in 33 games with Tampa Bay.
In his 10-year career, he’s had 705 minutes in penalties with a career-best offensive season in 2017-18 when he had 14 goals with the Predators.
In 2019, Watson entered the second stage of the NHL and Players Association’s joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program because of alcohol abuse.
A product of the Detroit Compuware hockey program, Watson played for the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League and won a Memorial Cup in Windsor in 2008-09.
As did Daily Faceoff’s Colton Davies…
Watson has been on a couple of PTOs since leaving the Ottawa Senators following the 2022-23 season after his three-year $4.5 million contract ended. Watson was a mainstay on the Senators’ bottom-six. He scored nine goals and 11 points in 75 games in 2022-23, which was the most games he played in a single season since 2017-18.
At 32-years-old, Watson still has a fair amount left in the tank and could help the Red Wings become a tougher team. He’s also a great guy in the locker room and an inspiration wherever he goes due to his public battle against alcoholism and mental health. The Red Wings know what they’re getting, Watson is a ferocious competitor.
Watson was originally an 18th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2010 NHL Draft. He was a point-per-game player in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires, Peterborough Petes and London Knights and showed tenacity and strength in his game. While he never turned into a top-six player, he has been able to carve out a role as a strong penalty killer and all-around tough guy.
Watson has played 515 games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. He has tallied 60 goals and 118 points along with 705 penalty minutes.
And The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:
With so many young players inching toward the NHL lineup, a player like Watson brings an element that could ensure opponents don’t take any liberties with them. Before committing to adding such a player — on a contract that could take space away from one of those rookies to begin with — Detroit gets a free trial during his tryout.
Watson is no stranger to Metro Detroit, having grown up in Ann Arbor, played AAA with Compuware and started his major junior career with the Windsor Spitfires. After a stop with the Peterborough Petes (of whom Steve Yzerman is a noted alumnus), he won the Memorial Cup with the London Knights in 2012, earning MVP honors in that postseason.
When it came to the NHL, though, Watson quickly became a role player with the Nashville Predators. He played there for six seasons, including the 2017 Stanley Cup Final run in which he chipped in nine points across 22 games. After being traded to Ottawa in 2020, he played three seasons there before mixing in and out of the bottom six last season with the Lightning.
MLive’s Ansar Khan noted that the chances of Watson signing an NHL deal aren’t fantastic…
Watson, a 32-year-old Ann Arbor native, will compete for a roster spot and try to earn a contract in training camp and the preseason.
He’s a big, grinding forward (6-4, 238) who would fill a toughness void with his knack for fighting. He appeared in 33 games last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning (two goals, two assists, 93 penalty minutes).
The Red Wings appear to be set with their bottom six with centers Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte and wingers Michael Rasmussen, Jonatan Berggren, Christian Fischer and Joe Veleno. They could use a 13th forward. Prospect Carter Mazur will be competing for a job in camp but will only make the roster if he’s playing regularly, otherwise he’ll continue developing in Grand Rapids.
As did Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:
Raw data shows that about 20% of players who attend NHL camps come away with a contract. Last season, the Red Wings did opt to sign goaltender Michael Hutchinson from a training camp PTO. He first would ink an AHL deal, which was later upgraded to an NHL pact.
There are certainly elements in Watson’s game that would come in handy to Detroit’s cause. He’s a physical presence as a bottom-six forward. Even last season he wound up dishing out 85 hits in just 33 games.
It marked the first time in seven seasons that Watson didn’t go over 100 hits. He was responsible for a career-high 213 hits with the Senators in 2021-22. That season also saw Watson scoring 10 goals. He netted a career-best 14 goals with Nashville in 2017-18.
The Red Wings aren’t deep in experienced NHL-caliber forwards beyond the 12 players who figure to start the season on the club’s roster. If Watson isn’t able to claim a place on the big club, he’d definitely be an attractive option to be available with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. He could join another 2010 first-round pick, goalie Jack Campbell (11th overall) were Watson to wind up with the Griffins.
