Kyle Quincey’s spent eight of his 11 NHL seasons with the Red Wings organization and, to hear him explain it, he’d like to push it to nine.
Or even more.
“If Kenny [general manager Holland] offers me something I’d love to come back,” Quincey, a pending UFA, told Mive this week. “We love it here. But if not, just see what happens.”
Quincey, 30, was drafted by the Wings in 2003 and returned to the organization in 2011, following a three-year stint in Los Angeles and Colorado. He’s become a regular fixture on Detroit’s back end in his second go-around but, this year, he missed a ton of time to injury and didn’t emerge as one of Jeff Blashill’s personal favorites.
Blashill scratched Quincey in Game 3 of Detroit’s opening-round playoff loss to Tampa, and didn’t provide a reason why.
Despite that, Quincey did form a pretty solid pairing with Danny DeKeyser this season, something that could prove valuable when Holland and Blashill decide how they want to address the defense moving forward.
Whatever the case, it’s pretty clear the ball’s in Detroit’s court.
That’s a similar situation to two summers ago when Quincey, a UFA, had to wait until July 1 for the Red Wings to make their move. Holland ponied up on the opening day of free agency with a two-year, $8.5 million deal, presumably after looking at the rest of the options out there -- and not being overly thrilled.
Quincey expects this summer to go the same way.
“Two years ago I didn’t know anything until July 1,” Quincey said. “I’m assuming it’s probably going to be the same thing.”
