Monday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they would be signing Dominik Shine—who had been playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins on an AHL contract—to a two-year NHL deal for the remainder of this season and all of next.
Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
With the Red Wings dealing with a number of injuries in the forward group (Patrick Kane and J.T. Compher already ruled out for the evening’s game against the Kings, Vladimir Tarasenko deemed unlikely to play by coach Todd McLellan), Shine provides an additional depth option.
Shine has been enjoying a career year in Grand Rapids, where he has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points (the latter two figures both team highs) for the Griffins in 40 games. He’s also a local kid, born in Pinckney, who played his college hockey at Northern Michigan University (where he put up 97 points in 131 games over four years).
It’s not yet clear whether Shine will play Monday evening against the Kings, but McLellan said Detroit had some options “on standby” should it appear reinforcements will be necessary, so the call to action for Shine suggests he likely will be needed immediately.
Because Shine was playing in Grand Rapids on an AHL contract, he couldn’t simply be re-called. Instead, the Red Wings needed to sign him to an NHL deal, allowing him to join the team. To create the roster space necessary to make room for Shine, Detroit also placed Patrick Kane on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 21.
We already knew Kane would not be playing this evening (his third game in a row on the shelf injured). IR holds a player out for seven days, so Kane would be eligible to return for the Red Wings’ Thursday night game in Edmonton, but given that he has yet to resume skating, that doesn’t exactly appear likely.
For now, the 31-year-old Shine—who has been in the Detroit organization since he signed with the Griffins in the spring of 2017 at the conclusion of his NMU career—looks like he may be poised to play in his first ever NHL game. It would be a deserved reward for a player with a sterling reputation in GR in the midst of a career season.
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