The Detroit Red Wings aren’t shy about embracing veterans, so perhaps it makes sense that they’re giving 40-year-old winger Mike Knuble a training camp tryout, according to CSNWashington.com’s Chuck Gormley.
“No contract,” Knuble said in a text message. “Just a chance.”
Knuble is coming off a 2011-12 season in which he saw a huge drop-off in his production. After his eighth consecutive 20+ goal season in 2010-11, Knuble failed to even get 20 points in 2011-12, putting up 18 in 72 games.
To some, that might indicate that the power forward is at the end of the road. On the other hand, it seems reasonable to give a productive goal-scorer a chance to prove it was just an offseason, though MLive.com’s Ansar Khan explains why the odds are against him:
He is longshot to earn a spot on a crowded roster that includes 14 healthy forwards, plus Patrick Eaves, who will start the season on injured reserve due to a concussion. The Red Wings also have a few apparently NHL-ready forwards with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Knuble has defied convention before in his career, however. After a middling hockey career through his twenties, The forward scored 30 goals for the first time when he turned 30 in 2002-03.
Maybe he’s just a player who succeeds the most when it’s unexpected, then.