27-year-old forward Damien Brunner loved his rookie season with the Detroit Red Wings and doesn’t want to leave anytime soon. He’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5, but he would like to ink a multi-year deal, based on a Detroit Free Press report.
“We’ve had discussions,” Brunner’s agent, Neil Sheehy said. “We’re scheduled to talk again in New Jersey this weekend.”
Determining fair value for Brunner might be tricky given that he only has the lockout shortened season and a single playoff run under his belt as far as NHL experience goes.
On top of that, he was particularly streaky. He had 16 points in his first 19 games before going through a patch of just two goals in 25 contests. He bounced back and tied for third on the Red Wings in playoff scoring.
“Those are always issues,” Sheehy said. “If you have a long track record, it makes it easier. Nonetheless, he’s a good player. We’ll see where talks go.”