Back for his second go-around with the Red Wings, Thomas Vanek returns on a one year deal to help mentor and grow the young players. Once a feared goal scorer in the NHL, Vanek has now become a journeyman, with this being his eighth team change in the last six seasons.

His first stop in HockeyTown proved to be a major success with a bitter ending. Becoming a fan-favorite after just 48 games he was shipped out-of-town for a third round pick and an AHL defensemen. While hopes of him garnering a much larger return were envision, he was practically given away to the Columbus Blue Jackets the following season, making Detroit’s deal a little easier to swallow, albeit 12 months later.

Bringing back the 13 year veteran isn’t for the purpose of flipping him for another minuscule return. Rather, have him work with the younger players who are looking to take their game to the next level. Andreas Athanasiou turned out to be the beneficiary two years ago. What better player to pair with fellow “new wing” Michael Rasmussen than another power forward with offensive prowess.

From The Hockey News:

We already have a good understanding of what Vanek is all about. He is a beast at redirecting pucks, loves to use the slap shot (especially on breakaways), and is a criminally underrated play-maker. He is a poorsome skater but uses his big frame to protect the puck and make plays with his hands. Somewhat on the quiet side, he lets his play on the ice speak for itself and leads by example.

Vanek shows off some of his offensive creativity with a nasty toe-drag to get by former Jets defensemen Paul Postma.

Here you can see all of his 24 goals from last season.

Long gone are the days where Vanek was posting 40-goal seasons, but he is still a good bet to crack 20 goals and 40 points.

Over the course of his career, he has gained a reputation for disappearing in the playoffs (not that it will affect Detroit…) which in-turn has been the diminishing factor to his trade value.

There have also been several instances where he did just not workout with certain teams. He struggled to live up to his contract in Minnesota, which resulted in him being bought out. In his short stay with the Panthers he never really clicked. The good news for Detroit is we know he gels well in Jeff Blashill’s system. More on that in the next section.

As previously mentioned, Vanek is coming in to help grow the young players. Early signs point to him pairing with Athanasiou to re-spark their chemistry from two years ago.

Looking back at the duo’s time together in the 2016-17 season, they were heavily sheltered, getting a large portion of offensive zone starts. With Athanasiou switching to center, will Blashill challenge his line with more defensive zone time? One of the big questions going into the season.

More New Wings: