Detroit signs Zach Aston-Reese, an analytical darling renown for his defensive impacts, to a one-year, two-way deal
The Detroit Red Wings announced the signing of winger Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year, two-way contract early Sunday morning.
Aston-Reese made stops in Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and Toronto over the course of a six-season NHL career, before auditioning for the Carolina Hurricanes during training camp on a PTO. Last year with the Maple Leafs, the Northeastern University product scored 10 goals and gave four assists in 77 games.
Aston-Reese didn't stick in Carolina, but he brings with him to Detroit a reputation as an analytical darling, earning acclaim for his defensive impacts. Here's a look at his "isolated impact," as measured by Micah Blake McCurdy of HockeyViz.com:
As the oceans of blue (signaling low shot rates) on the above chart indicate, when Zach Aston-Reese is on the ice, neither team gets much offense. Aston-Reese prevents opposing attackers from generating a high volume of shots when he is on the ice, and he also takes away premium opportunities at the net. This holds true at even strength and at five-on-five. Meanwhile, he provides very little by way of offense himself.
It's a curious signing in that Detroit had already brought in Christian Fischer and Klim Kostin to play on its fourth line, which Derek Lalonde complimented yesterday, referring to it as an "identity line," which helped spur the team's comeback in the pre-season finale. It's hard to imagine playing Aston-Reese playing at the NHL level outside of a fourth-line context, but perhaps Detroit believes otherwise.
As it stands, Detroit's middle six wingers (some combination of David Perron, Lucas Raymond, Michael Rasmussen, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Sprong) tend to skew more toward attacking profiles than defensive ones. Raymond, Fabbri, and Sprong in particular fit that description, so Aston-Reese could conceivably add a different element to either the Red Wings' second or third line.
Alternately, the Red Wings may have earmarked Aston-Reese as injury insurance, while providing defensive solidity to the Grand Rapids Griffins. On this point, it's worth clarifying that a two-way contract refers to a deal in which a player's salary is variable whether they play in the NHL or the AHL. It does not mean that the player can be sent up and down between the leagues without passing through waivers.
