Updated at 7:53 PM: New Red Wings forward James van Riemsdyk spoke with the media today, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted that the big power forward has been rumored to be coming to Detroit for multiple seasons now:
“Kind of funny, back a few years ago it seemed like it was a team that was interested in bringing me aboard,” said van Riemsdyk Wednesday in a Zoom call with Detroit media. “Going through the free-agency process, when they started showing some interest, it seemed like a good fit. The trajectory of the team, they’re trying to make a push and the playoffs next year, all the history of being an Original Six place. That was super exciting. I have a lot of familiarity with the team, too. It checked a lot of boxes.”
The Wings are looking for van Riemsdyk, 36, to supply offense in the middle of their forward lineup. Last season in Columbus, van Riemsdyk had 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points, in 71 games. He has scored at least 11 goals every year of his 16-year NHL career.
Being in the NHL that long, van Riemsdyk is confident he can adapt to whatever coach Todd McLellan needs from him.
“Especially over the last few years, as you kind of get older in your career, you kind have a calling card as a player,” van Riemsdyk said. “You have to find ways to get a bit more versatile and add value in different ways to a team, being able to contribute in different ways. I’ve been able to add different things to my game that make me play in different spots all over the lineup. You balance those things to playing your identity and calling card and being adaptable and versatile and being able to play different types of roles.”
Here’s more from 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield:
“I’m a little bit of a numbers/math person, and your odds are obviously very good around the net if you want to score goals and be productive,” said van Riemsdyk. “It’s a part of the game that the more I’ve done it, the more natural it seems to become. And especially down the stretch and into the playoffs, it seems like that’s where you need to go to have success and score goals, so that’s ultimately why it’s, for me, such an attractive place to be on the ice.”
While well-removed from his prime as a 30-goal scorer, van Riemsdyk did score 16 goals in 71 games last season with the Blue Jackets, who exceeded expectations while jumping the Red Wings in the standings. If he can provide similar production in Detroit, he’ll represent a much better investment for the Wings than Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored 11 goals in 82 games last season and was just shipped to the Wild along with this $4.75 million cap hit.
Tarasenko struggled to find a fit in Detroit, playing mostly on the third line as more of a top-line player for most of his career. The Red Wings likely see van Riemsdyk as a more flexible forward, which is something he sees in himself.
“I think my greatest strength is probably my hockey IQ and hockey sense,” he said. “That can fall into a lot of different categories, but just knowing how to play the game, knowing how to manage a game, being able to fit in with different styles of players in different roles, just trying to be ultra aware of these sorts of things. Everyone has their calling card as a player — it’s what they do best and what got them to this point — and as you get older, having some more clubs in your bag to be able to play a different role or value different parts of the game becomes more and more important.
“Being able to have that adaptable sort of mindset, so no matter what situation it is — specialty teams, first line, fourth line, more offensive role, more defensive role — you know the different parts and the details that go into that.”
Update: Here’s more from NHL.com’s Dave Hogg:
“I have a lot of familiarity with guys on the team and obviously an Original Six team is super exciting too,” van Riemsdyk said Wednesday. “It definitely checked a lot of boxes. I think, obviously, having the experience of being through a lot of different things over the course of my career can be a help. That’s kind of where I see myself fitting in with the lineup. I think that is how I can help them.”
The No. 2 pick by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2007 NHL Draft, van Riemsdyk has 665 points (327 goals, 338 assists) in 1,082 regular-season games for the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Blue Jackets and 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in 82 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“I think as you get older and more experienced, you try to adjust the balance. of playing to your identity, but also being adaptable and versatile, being able to play in different types of roles with different players,” van Riemsdyk said. “At this stage of my career, it isn’t necessarily about dollars and cents. You want to be valued.”
The Red Wings signed the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft, forward Patrick Kane, to a one-year, $3 million contract Monday. Kane and van Riemsdyk were teammates for the bronze-medal winning United States at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship, and at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, World Cup of Hockey 2016 and 2019 IIHF World Championship.
“He’s one of my really good buddies and we’ve obviously kind of been on this whole journey together in a lot of ways,” van Riemsdyk said. “We’ve been through some different USA Hockey things over the years.”
