Xavier Ouellet signs 2-year, $2.5 million contract with Red Wings

The biggest splash of free agency? It just might be!

Reported first today for some reason by a Quebec-based reporter, RFA Xavier Ouellet re-upped his contract with the Red Wings at $1.25 million for the next two seasons.

Thought not the biggest impact player on the Wings’ backend, Ouellet has been a bit of a “tweener” the past few seasons. This year, he stuck with the big club, finding his way into 66 games, picking up 12 points. He didn’t have great possession numbers, posting a 49.0 CF%, but he also played on the Red Wings so, can you really blame the guy?

A smooth skating, puck-moving, line-dancing defenceman like “XO” is a good fit for the Red Wings. We haven’t seen him skate yet in a full 82-game load and he’s yet to play in the NHL postseason, but he’s clearly a little bit to good for the AHL and will likely continue to operate on the Wings bottom pairing. His main partners this season were Robbie Russo and Jonathan Ericsson, neither of which are the most inspiring bunch.

At age 23, the deal is a nice bridge opportunity that can let us see what he’ll look like with maybe some increased icetime. Good work all around team. This might honestly be Ken Holland’s best move of the offseason so far.