Brad Stuart is a guy the Wings would like to re-sign in the offseason when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but he might have other ideas.
Mlive.com’s Ansar Khan finds out from Stuart that he might want to go back to the west coast this summer when it comes time to figure out his future and family is at the heart of the matter.
“It is going to be a tough decision,” Stuart said. “It’s not going to be all based on hockey and what I want for my career. It’s going to be a little bit (about) family, which is important. Those are things I still have to kind of sort out, try to figure out what’s going to be best for everyone.”
Stuart’s family is in San Jose where he once played for the Sharks. Being on the road all the time as a player makes life hard. It’s even tougher when your family doesn’t call the city you’re playing in home.
There’s no doubt that Wings GM Ken Holland would love to keep Stuart in Detroit alongside Niklas Kronwall but if Stuart wants to be closer to his family, there’s not a lot a team can throw at a player to make them change their mind.
Should Stuart head west this summer, the Wings are facing a potentially franchise-altering change to their defensive corps with Nicklas Lidstrom possibly retiring as well. Losing two of your top four defensemen would hurt any team and would make the Wings even bigger players for someone like Ryan Suter should he become a free agent.