Dear readers,

I know it's been over a week since I've written anything, but for once it wasn't out of my laziness or busy schedule. There just isn't a whole lot going on. I debated writing a warning piece to Philadelphia Flyers fans about the dangers of calling Ville Leino a legit NHL player, but Saler covered that pretty good at On the Wings. I was going to write about Ritola last night, but the hockey gods had other ideas, and I wake up today to see that Detroit is down a prospect. Sigh, well, let's dissect this.

The very good news is that restricted free agent to-be Mattias Ritola has signed a three-year deal to stay with the Red Wings. Ritola spent the last three seasons in Grand Rapids, getting a handful of games in with the big club -- even a playoff game, filling in for Jason Williams, who, as you might remember, was single-handedly responsible for Detroit's playoff exit.

For a little overview, when Ritola was drafted in 2005, they called him a "skilled but lazy" player. All the offensive skills in the world, but not always a strong commitment to two-way play. Then he comes over to Grand Rapids as a rookie and leads the team in +/-, showing that he can commit to a consistent two-way style of play. I always thought he looked pretty good in his few NHL appearances, he always looked like a Red Wing type player in pre-season action, and he gradually really grew on me in his time as a Griffin.

But the pressure for any twenty-something Swedish (or just European in general) player who isn't a mainstay in the NHL is to look at a professional contract back in their homeland. Depending on the league, they can make more money, and fans in Sweden tend to regard players who are regulars in the SEL a little higher than those stuck in the AHL, so there's more glory in it as well. You play in rinks that are a little fuller, with fans who are a little (note: italics indicate understatement) more ravenous than that in an AHL venue. Sometimes it's just not worth waiting, so prospects tend to go back to Sweden at that age. Who can blame them though? Well, a lot of Wings fans do anyway, but I digress.

This is what I thought might happen with Ritola, given that the Wings got good seasons from the likes of Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves. Getting Jiri Hudler back as well as only having Williams as the only free agent who really isn't worth bringing back leads to a roster crunch. I left out Miller in my offseason post (see below) in favor of keeping Ritola just as a 13th forward. However, I mentioned that I wouldn't be at all upset if they brought the hard-working Miller back, and Ken Holland seemed to echo my thoughts. He's planning to qualify all of the team's restricted free agents, so clearly he doesn't read my blog. No word if that just means the NHL RFAs, or if he'll qualify the elusive Johan Ryno as well.

This deal though, sheds some light on Detroit's RFA situation. It's set up as a two-way deal for just the first season, and a one-way in both year two and three. This means that, unless he has an incredible training camp, Ritola will end up in Grand Rapids for another year. He would have to clear waivers (but not re-entry waivers if he's called back up), which, as good as he is, is likely. There's going to be a lot of players on waivers then, and what do you think a team would prefer when they're trying to patch up a lineup in October? A player who's had NHL experience before, or a wild card like Ritola who wasn't able to crack an NHL roster in four straight training camps? Seems like he'd be able to pass, though it's a slight risk.

Drew Miller? Looks like you're staying a Wing. Thank Ritola for taking this swell deal. Ritola did himself a favor by keeping his cap hit low -- he'll likely be the top injury call-up. That was Justin Abdelkader's position last year, and he ended up playing in like 50 games before he saw any AHL time.

And just because the universe can't tip too far into Detroit's favor at one time, this morning it was announced that Daniel Larsson has signed a two-year deal with HV-71 of the SEL. I also touched on this in my offseason post, mentioning that there were SEL teams after Larsson's services, and that his thinking in coming over to North America (if Erik Ersberg can play in the NHL, then so can I) without getting any NHL time might have been frustrating. Then he splits time with Jimmy Howard last season and statistically outperforms him by a decent margin --yet Howard goes up to the NHL and flourishes, and Larsson has to split time with a much younger goalie in Thomas McCollum. It wasn't the best of situations for him, given that he was definitely AHL-bound for another season, and with McCollum turning his game around late in the season, it looked as if Larsson would get even less playing time this coming season.

I thought he was a can't miss prospect at one point. The year before he came to North America he won the Honken Trophy for best goaltender in the SEL. Then he lit up the AHL, taking almost no time to transition. However, he had a rough year this season, and he looked like he was struggling more and more each time I saw him. It didn't take long for McCollum, despite his numbers, look like the better professional goaltending prospect.

However, Larsson would have turned 25 this coming season. He is definitely a promising goaltender who will be missed, but his role in Detroit seemed very small. He likely would have taken the backup job in 2011-12, when Chris Osgood is expected to retire, but only for a few seasons. McCollum would have had another two seasons in the AHL, and likely would have forced Detroit to move Larsson at some point, should his development pan out the way Detroit thought it could. And again, all of this assumes that Jimmy Howard is still the real deal, who knows what happens if he doesn't prove capable of handling 60 games per season.

This is good news for McCollum though, who becomes Detroit's "next goalie in waiting" two years earlier than most thought he would. He won't need to worry about splitting time with another prospect next season. Grand Rapids goaltending does look a little sketchy for next season, with only McCollum and Jordan Pearce (who started very slowly in the ECHL, before having a decent end to the season) left in the system. Detroit may sign a veteran to tandem with McCollum, and give Pearce a few starts only if his play in Toledo improves. But either way, McCollum becomes the priority down there, where before, Larsson was demanding equal attention. He'll get more quality starts, and if he starts next season the way he finished this one, he'll start the bulk of the games no matter who else is down there.

This also leaves Detroit with just two goaltending prospects in the system, both at polar opposite places as a prospect -- one is a 1st round pick who has always been a top prospect, the other is an NCAA standout who signed this contract only to give professional hockey a try, with med school as a "backup" plan. It might be worth drafting a goalie this coming June, especially a long-term project who might be college-bound (so Detroit would hold their rights longer). But it's not worth drafting a college-bound goaltender just to have one, so I'm sure Detroit will only do it if the fit is right.