One Former Red Wings Player Finds a Job

With NHL training camps opening later this week, the vast majority of UFAs who played for the Detroit Red Wings last season are still without work.

James van Riemsdyk, Cam Talbot, Travis Hamonic, and David Perron haven’t found a team willing to take them. Only Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) was able to land a new home.

In the Red Wings world, UFA stands for unemployed free agents.

One ex-Detroit player did find a new home in the past week, though. Dmytro Timashov will be playing in the Slovak League.

He has signed with HK Nitra.

On the eve of the KHL season, Admiral Vladivostok bought out Timashov’s contract.

“I actually don’t know what happened,” Timashov told Swedish website Hockey Sverige.

Timashov played five games for the Red Wings during the 2021-22 season.

The Swiss National League is also about to get underway, and EV Zug may be without a key player who once played for the Red Wings.

Czech forward Dominik Kubalik left the club’s final preseason game with a lower-body injury without any contact from another player. After examining Kubalik’s injury, team officials hope it’s only a muscle ailment, not a structural issue.

Kubalik was a 20-goal scorer for Detroit in 2022-23. He was part of the package that Detroit dealt to the Ottawa Senators in the Alex DeBrincat trade.

There are reports out of Sweden that Swedish international forward and former Red Wings player Jacob de la Rose will be signing an extension to remain with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League. His contract is set to expire at the end of the current season.

De la Rose played 61 games for the Wings in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for forward Robby Fabbri.

The Czech Extraliga season is also underway. Liberec will be counting heavily on a pair of former Grand Rapids Griffins to lead the way.

Analytically, team captain Radek Simek rates as the best defenseman in the league. He was a Griffins player for nine AHL games late in the 2023-24 season after Detroit acquired him in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.

Up front, Jakub Rychlovsky is back playing in his homeland following two seasons in Grand Rapids. When Rychlovsky most recently played in the Czech Extraliga in 2023-24, he led the league in goals, potting 26 in 51 games for Liberec.

He already has three points in three games with Liberec this season.