Red Wings Sign Veteran Forward van Riemsdyk

The Detroit Red Wings made a move to shore up their bottom-six upon the opening of NHL free agency on Tuesday, signing veteran forward James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal.

UPDATE: The #RedWings have signed James van Riemsdyk to a one-year contract with a $1,000,000 cap hit. pic.twitter.com/I7XMSvRlYe

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2025

The contract carries a $1 million salary cap hit but includes another $750,000 in bonuses.

This is at least the second time that the Red Wings have tried to acquire van Riemsdyk after a deal at the 2023 trade deadline fell through.

JVR seemingly provides an upgrade over Tyler Motte. I liked Motte a lot but van Riemsdyk scored 16 goals last season and scoring depth is something the Red Wings were sorely lacking.

That $1 million cap hit is also nice, though I worry about – between this deal and Patrick Kane’s – throwing too much money forward onto next year’s cap hit via bonuses.

All in all, it’s a tidy bit of work, but it doesn’t solve the team’s biggest issues.