Questioning the Appleton signing

The Red Wings signed 29-year-old grinding forward Mason Appleton to a 2-year contract at $2.9 million per season. I like the signing–it bolsters the Wings’ bottom-six with a 6’2,” 194 pound center/winger who more than replaces Craig Smith and Tyler Motte with a bigger, faster, tougher player with more offensive upside.

I’ll grant you that it’s very much so a depth signing, and an expensive one at that, but I believe that Appleton makes the Wings’ bottom six better than it was last season.

I’m not saying that the Wings don’t still need to add a top-six forward and a top-four defenseman, presumably by trade, but the signing is satisfactory for me.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff isn’t so sure, describing the signing as “puzzling“:

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman does seem to like to collect honest, 200-foot players who can play in his bottom six. But those aren’t guys who are going to be moving the needle.

Appleton was 12th on the Jets in scoring with 22 points. His 0.31 points per game average was third-worst among Winnipeg forwards who were playing at least 50 games. So no, he isn’t going to be making regular contributions to the offense. His plus-seven rating would’ve looked good on Detroit, but it was 18th overall on the Jets.

Appleton is 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, so he does bring some size. Will he have an impact in making the Red Wings a heavier team that’s harder to play against? His numbers suggest no.

Appleton’s 4.3 hits per 60 minutes rated 17th on the Jets. His 1.65 blocked shots per 60 was tied for last on the team. Might he be providing a boost to Detroit’s moribund penalty hill? The evidence says no. Appleton saw just 45 seconds per game on the PK for Winnipeg. Six Jets forwards were logging more shorthanded ice time.

So, when you figure out how this move makes sense, let us know, because we’re completely puzzled by this decision. At first glance, this signing has all the earmarks of one that’s going to come back to bite the Red Wings.

Again, I’ll take the signing and run with it, but not everybody agrees when it comes to critiquing player movement, and in this case, Duff makes a good case to wonder where Appleton fits going forward. My hope is that he’ll help the 3rd or 4th line in a more meaningful way than his predecessors.