The acquisition of hard-nosed forward Keegan Kolesar could go down as one of the more underrated moves for the Detroit Red Wings this offseason.
While the Detroit Red Wings continue to face more questions than answers regarding their on-ice and front-office leadership as Training Camp quickly approaches, one of their acquisitions from earlier this summer could ultimately pay off in a big way.
On the opening day of free agency, now-former Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman acquired hard-nosed forward Keegan Kolesar from the Vegas Golden Knights in return for a 2027 seventh-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick.
Kolesar, a veteran of 439 regular-season games with the Golden Knights, arrives in Detroit with Stanley Cup-winning experience. He was part of Vegas’ championship-winning squad in 2022-23 and also helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final earlier this spring, though the Golden Knights fell short against the Carolina Hurricanes.
While he isn't relied upon to provide much scoring, Kolesar will instead help the Red Wings in an area where they've been sorely lacking: providing a physical presence and making them a more difficult team for opponents to play against.
The Red Wings were ranked dead last in a recent NHL aggressiveness index for last season, something that Kolesar will be looking to change.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
"Just talking to guys now, they felt that there was a missing piece, maybe an identity of just having that - not the fighting aspect, but more of the toughness and being hard to play against, being a veteran presence on the front end, bringing guys into the fight," Kolesar explained during his introductory Zoom media session in July. "I think that’s something I can provide.”
“You try to bring guys into the fight every night," he continued. "If I can be one of those older guys that comes in and shows guys that we’re going to go in there to the trenches tonight and see who wants to follow me, and maybe it uplifts the guys a little bit more.”
Having a physical presence willing to battle in the dirty areas of the ice and immediately stand up for his teammates is something the Red Wings have lacked in recent years.
While Kolesar's addition isn't the second coming of such former players like Bob Probert, Brendan Shanahan, Darren McCarty, and Martin Lapointe, it should only help address that deficiency and help them shed the reputation of being too easy to play against.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
