Red Wings' Andreas Athanasiou: Rumored on brink of ending contract holdout

Athanasiou appears to be on the verge of signing a one-year contract extension with the Red Wings, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Analysis:

Fans of the Winged Wheel will believe it when they officially see it, as Double A has been at an impasse with Detroit's hockey club since receiving his qualifying offer in late June. However, If he does finally put pen to paper on a new deal, Athanasiou will be worth adding immediately given his significant amount of offensive upside. Last season, while largely confined to a bottom-six role, he scored 18 times to complement 11 assists in 64 games for the Wings. When a player ends a lengthy holdout, a conditioning stint in the minors usually follows, but Athanasiou has at least been skating with Swiss club HC Lugano in order to keep up some level of conditioning.