Detroit Red Wings Waive Expensive Veteran

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Sunday they have waived forward Frans Nielsen. The 36-year-old Nielsen has this season and next left on his contract that is paying him $5.25 million per season. He also holds a modified no-trade clause that sees him submit a 10-team list where he can't be moved to.

The Red Wings, as expected, sit near the bottom of the NHL standings and Nielsen is one of the many forwards who has disappointed since his arrival. While 41 points in 79 games his first season with the Red Wings is a decent year, the combined 47 points in his last 150 games is worrisome.

With Frans Nielsen on waivers today, a reminder of this 2018 tweet from @ArponBasu. https://t.co/JvsU32JcH3
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 21, 2021

The skeptics were out when Nielsen signed the expensive ticket in Motown back in 2018, and this is certainly turning into a bit of a 'we told you so' moment for the Red Wings.

Steve Yzerman has a ton of work to do, and it continues with the waiving of an expensive veteran.

Frans Nielsen, placed on waivers by DET, is a very expensive defensive fourth liner. He was once elite at suppressing scoring chances and is now just pretty good at it. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/6KXAKpcrNL
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 21, 2021