Red Wings' Teemu Pulkkinen: Gets qualifying offer

Pulkkinen was extended a qualifying offer by the Red Wings on Monday, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Analysis:

Expectations were sky-high for Pulkkinen after the Finn led the AHL with 34 goals in 46 games for Grand Rapids in 2014-15, but neck and shoulder injuries slowed him this past season and he only ended up appearing in 36 games. In that span, he contributed six goals and six assists. Still, with Pavel Datsyuk leaving for Russia, the Wings elected to retain the negotiating rights of Pulkkinen, and that figures to be a wise move given his untapped potential. As noted in the report, Detroit has also tendered a qualifying offer to goalie Petr Mrazek, plus defensemen Danny Dekeyser and Alexey Marchenko, the rest of its restricted free agents.