Red Wings Sign Chiarot To Multi-Year Contract
BENNY! 🗣️
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 28, 2026
The #RedWings have signed Ben Chiarot to a three-year contract extension with an AAV of $3,850,000. pic.twitter.com/MXrDz66tyU
With this move, the Red Wings keep around a veteran defenseman who has bounced back and had a better season than 2024-25. He still isn't one of the top defenseman on the team, his team tends to get outplayed when he's on the ice, and his role could shrink before the end of his deal, but I think the veteran playing less is what the Red Wings are counting on. The team has so much cap space to work with and Chiarot is getting a reduced AAV to further expand that.
Chiarot is playing over 21 minutes per game and two minutes per game on the penalty kill. The right side of the ice is stronger and has more options than the left, so keeping Chiarot around on a short-term deal makes sense if they don't think they can get better in free agency or through a trade, even if he moved to a third pairing/penalty killing role sooner than later.
Defensemen like Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson will be gone after the season, so either the Red Wings make a big addition to force Chiarot into a smaller role with all the cap space they have, or they wait and hope for a quick development from either Shai Buium or William Wallinder for the left side. Simon Edvinsson is already the top LD, while Albert Johansson has served as this season's 3LD for Detroit.
This signing of the 34-year-old Chiarot might be more of an issue if the Red Wings were cap-strapped, but they have to make moves to really improve with the opportunity in front of them and the space to do it. They have a strong chance of making it into the playoffs, and stability and insurance on the back-end for a few years in Chiarot is just the first step.
Photo credit: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
