The Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman Jake Walman to a three-year extension, the club announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The deal carries a $3.4 million average annual value.
- Walman, 27, has five goals and five assists in 40 games with the Red Wings this season and has a plus-17 rating.
- The St. Louis Blues traded Walman to the Red Wings in March 2022 along with forward Oskar Sundqvist and a 2023 second-round pick in exchange for Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski. The Blues drafted Walman in the third round in 2014.
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today signed defenseman Jake Walman to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.4 million.
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— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 28, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How Walman earned this contract
Quite simply, he’s been the breakout story of the season for the Red Wings. He went from being injured to start the season to quickly working his way up from the third defense pairing to a top-pair stalwart next to Moritz Seider. And while Walman’s skating and hard shot do make him dangerous offensively, what’s been impressive is how quickly he’s won over coach Derek Lalonde with his defense. Walman has used that mobility and his size at 6-foot-2 to kill plays, noticeable in his outstanding underlying numbers next to Seider.
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Entering Monday night’s game against Ottawa, the pairing’s expect goals share was about 58 percent, an elite number. — Bultman
Why does a 3-year extension make sense?
As good as Walman’s been this season, his track record is still relatively short in the NHL due to not getting many opportunities early in his career in St. Louis. As a result, his dominant underlying numbers this year couldn’t carry quite the weight that they might over a multiyear sample. But he’s still getting a substantial raise, and will still be 29 at the conclusion of this deal, giving him a chance to cash in big then.
Meanwhile, for Detroit, this locks in Walman for the immediate future, allowing him and Seider to continue to play together as a dominant defensive pairing at a significant value. From that standpoint, it looks like a win-win. — Bultman
What this means for the future of Detroit’s left side
With Olli Määttä also inking an extension ahead of the trade deadline, the Red Wings now have their entire left-side defense under contract for at least the next two seasons, with Walman and Ben Chiarot now under contract for the next three. Considering Detroit’s top prospect Simon Edvinsson is also a left shot, it now appears inevitable that a left-shot D will need to play their off hand if everyone is healthy next season. That’s a big if, of course, and the corps won’t always be healthy. But with more advanced left-shot D prospects in the system, it’s certainly a situation worth monitoring. — Bultman
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(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
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