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Detroit Red Wings Clear Cap Space For Andreas Athanasiou With Riley Sheahan Trade

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The Detroit Red Wings moved one step closer to bringing restricted free agent Andreas Athanasiou back into the fold on Saturday when they freed up the necessary salary-cap space by making a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

According to CapFriendly, Riley Sheahan is in the second year of a two-year contract that carries a value of $2.075 million. The cap hit for the player coming back in the deal, Scott Wilson, is $625,000.

Cap considerations have been a factor all summer in Detroit's negotiations with Athanasiou, a skilled, speedy forward who showed he could be a game-changer when he finished second on the Red Wings with 18 goals in 2016-17. Drafted in the fourth round in 2012, Athanasiou was a breakout star on a struggling Detroit team in his first full NHL season.

With a league-high 10 players on their roster with some form of no-trade or no-movement clauses in their contracts, the Wings were tight to the cap after re-signing leading scorer Thomas Tatar in July. They also had very few options available to free up cap space for Athanasiou.

According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Athanasiou rejected two offers that were presented to him by the Red Wings over the summer—one year at $1.25 million or two years at $1.9 million per season. Athansiou's agent, Darren Ferris, countered by reporting that his client had a more lucrative offer on the table from a KHL team—which turned out to be one year at $2.5 million.

The two sides failed to come to terms during training camp, but Athanasiou kept his options open. When the NHL regular season began, he flew to Switzerland to practice with HC Lugano. The KHL remained a possibility, as did signing with a Swiss League team. If he had followed either of those paths, the London, Ontario native would also have been in consideration for Team Canada's Olympic roster.

Without Athanasiou, the Wings started well, opening their season with a 4-1 record. Last Monday, Detroit general manager Ken Holland and coach Jeff Blashill held a conference call with Athanasiou and his agent that seemed to open the lines of communication. After the Wings went on to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, Holland announced Friday that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle.

Because the contract would have put the Wings over the cap ceiling, it could not be filed immediately. Instead, Holland got back on the phone with Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford, who had been circling around Riley Sheahan as a potential third-line center for his team since losing Nick Bonino to unrestricted free agency last summer.

Once considered an important part of Detroit's next wave of young talent, Sheahan was a first-round draft pick in 2010, selected 21st overall. In his first full season with the Red Wings in 2014-15, Sheahan scored 13 goals and added 23 assists. He followed up with 14 goals but struggled at both ends of the ice in 2016-17, scoring just two goals in 80 games and finishing with a team-worst minus-29.

In a limited role this year, Sheahan was pointless in eight games. At 25, he has the potential to be the next player to turn his career around in Pittsburgh, following the in the footsteps of Penguins like Justin Schultz and Carl Hagelin.

In Scott Wilson, the Wings get a 25-year-old journeyman who posted 26 points for the Penguins last season and added six points in 20 playoff games on his way to earning a Stanley Cup ring. With the Penguins uncharacteristically healthy to start the year, Wilson had suited up in just three games.

The Wings made a second trade on Saturday, which was not related to the Athanasiou situation. Defenseman Ryan Sproul was dealt to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Matt Puempel.

Now in position to be cap compliant, the Wings are expected to file Athanasiou's contract with the NHL on Monday and begin processing his work visa application. He'll be able to start skating with the team as soon as he gets to Detroit and should be able to get into game action within the next two weeks.

After they host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, the Wings will hit the road next week for games against the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

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