Report: Red Wings have reached out to free agents Vanek, Filppula
The Detroit Red Wings may be interested in a reunion with a pair of familiar faces, as Craig Custance of The Athletic reported the team reached out to free-agent forwards Thomas Vanek and Valtteri Filppula.
However, it's unknown whether the Red Wings would like to sign both players, or if the team would limit it to one addition in order to keep more open roster spots for young players.
Vanek spent the 2015-16 campaign with the Red Wings, when he appeared in just 48 games but still managed to put up 38 points. Detroit dealt him to the Florida Panthers at the 2016 trade deadline, and the Austrian split last season between the Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Filppula has a more extensive history with the Red Wings, as he was a third-round pick by the club in the 2002 draft. He skated one year with Detroit's minor-league club and then seven with the Red Wings, while his best season came in 2011-12, when he tallied 66 points in 81 games.
He was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017-18, which marked the final season of a five-year contract that carried a $5-million cap hit.