As one of the more active teams during the NHL's offseason free-agency period, the Detroit Red Wings signed several players to new contracts who had played elsewhere during the 2024-25 season.
One such player was Mason Appleton, who had played the bulk of his career with the Winnipeg Jets along with a brief stop with the Seattle Kraken. Now, he's with the Red Wings after signing a two-year, $2.9 million deal in Detroit.
Appleton already had local ties to Michigan, as he played two seasons with the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. The Red Wings anticipate that he'll not only chip in with some timely scoring, but also aid their penalty-kill, which struggled last season.
Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena was his unofficial Red Wings debut, and he immediately made an impact by scoring a shorthanded tally just minutes into the contest after teammate Andrew Copp stole the puck from Buffalo Sabres goaltender Aleksandar Georgiev and fed him a perfect pass in front of the vacated net.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
"It feels good, scoring early in a game," Appleton said of his goal following Friday's practice. "It kind of helps you settle in and just play hockey. It's not really about the goals right now, it's more about getting your game feeling right and gelling with your line mates, gelling as a team. It was a good game for us."
Appleton joins a Red Wings squad looking to take the next step and bring an end to their Stanley Cup Playoff drought, which dates back to 2016.
Having already appeared in 32 postseason games, including 13 during Winnipeg’s run to the Western Conference Semifinal last season, Appleton takes pride in the attention to detail in his playing style. He believes that mindset will rub off on his teammates, especially in the playoffs when every shift is under a microscope.
"Obviously, you try to play every game with that same mentality and mindset, but you realize that in the playoffs, everything is kind of under a microscope and every little play matters that much more," he said. "I try to show that in my game and take pride in the little things, and be really detailed and execute what the coach's game plan is."
"If you do that over and over again, it kind of rubs off on guys and kind of builds into your team identity."
As far as what stands out the most to Appleton since joining the Red Wings in July, he senses an elevated sense of hunger.
"It's a hungry group," he said of his early impressions of the Red Wings. "This is a team that found themselves on the outside looking in the last few yeaers, and they were kind of right there. It's not that your only focus is making the playoffs, but I can tell with how they've worked every single day, there's a little more bite and jam to our game. It's a 'We're not going to be denied' mindset."
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!