Red Wings Sign Klim Kostin to Two-Year Deal

On Saturday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they have signed winger Klim Kostin to a two-year deal worth $2 million per season.

On Saturday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they have signed winger Klim Kostin to a two-year deal worth $2 million per season.

Detroit acquired Kostin Thursday, on the second day of the NHL Draft in Nashville, via a trade with Edmonton along with Kailer Yamamoto.  In a not insignificantly confusing series of events, the Red Wings bought out Yamamoto yesterday, then proceeded not to qualify Kostin (a restricted free agent).

The trade appeared momentarily pointless (nothing more than a favor from Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman to Oilers GM Ken Holland, Yzerman's boss during his first tenure in Detroit).  Sportsnet's Mark Spector had reported that Kostin was close to signing with Avangard Omsk in the KHL prior to being dealt out of Edmonton, so perhaps the trade was insufficient in persuading the 23-year-old winger to remain in North America.

This morning, though, those fears proved unfounded, and Kostin signed his new contract, which will make him a UFA again in the summer of 2025.  

Kostin won't be a star in Detroit, but his physicality and acumen as a shooter can make him a useful piece in the Red Wings' middle six.  Across four NHL seasons (three in St. Louis, then the most recent in Edmonton), Kostin is a 17.4% shooter with 16 goals on 92 career shots.

Kostin can chip in more than his fair share of goals in a depth role, while making life miserable for his opponents with body checking.  At his availability on Day Two of the draft, Yzerman said of him, "we watched him last year. He's big, he skated well, and was more involved in the game. He played on a pretty deep team there in Edmonton, so there's an opportunity for him to take on a bigger role. We felt like he's showed he can play in the NHL as a regular. That was our opinion. How high up the lineup? We're optimistic that he can work his way into a bigger role with us."

That comment suggests that Kostin will at the very least have an opportunity to play at or near the top of the Red Wing lineup, even if that might be in a complementary role.

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As it turned out, Kostin was not the only RFA whom Detroit did not qualify but re-signed anyway.  This morning, the Wings also announced the signing of defenseman Gustav Lindstrom to a one-year, $950,000 deal, which will make him an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer.