The Detroit Red Wings have signed D Justin Holl to a three-year deal

The Red Wings signed defenseman Justin Holl to a three-year deal worth $10.2 million for an AAV of $3.4 million.

Holl has spent the entirety of his six-year career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, after a collegiate career at the University of Minnesota.  A year ago, he posted two goals and 16 assists in 80 games with the Leafs.  He has a reputation as an effective puck mover and useful penalty killer but also as a player who can struggle at times to defend at his own net front.

The below chart from Micah McCurdy and HockeyViz.com shows Holl to be a strong defender at five-on-five or on the PK, while contributing almost nothing at the offensive end of the rink.

At the draft, Steve Yzerman noted that the Wings would be looking to add a right-handed defenseman, and Holl appears to be that player, or at least one of them.  

His previous deal (signed by ex-Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, now running the show in Pittsburgh) was also three years but worth just $2 million annually, so Yzerman has brought him to Detroit at a significant raise.

Holl's profile (as a PKer, righty, and puck mover) checks a lot of boxes for the Red Wings.  He has limitations as a player, and his new contract isn't insignificant, but this is a player who can improve the Red Wings D corps immediately.  

At 31, Holl is by no means a prospect, and this isn't a risk-free contract.  He was often a divisive player amongst Leafs fans and at times struggled with consistency in Toronto.  He was a healthy scratch when the Leafs broke through in Game 6 against Tampa to win their first playoff series since 2004.  Still, the Red Wings have not iced a lineup with six legitimate NHL-caliber defensemen in years, and Holl should be able to help correct that problem.