Kyle Quincey was a Detroit Red Wings draft pick back in June 2003, but it wasn’t until a waiver claim by the L.A. Kings during the 2008-09 season that he became an NHL regular.
Now in his second stint in the Motor City, GM Ken Holland sees a more refined defenseman.
“Kyle Quincey, for us, he’s become a good shutdown guy,” Holland told the Detroit Free Press. “Early last season he finally started to settle into his role on the Detroit Red Wings….a good defensive defensemen.
“I think he played really well the last 60 games last year and he got off to a good start this year.
The 29-year-old has an assist in 11 games while averaging 17:19 in ice time this season, well under the nearly 20 minutes he’s usually seen.
“Honestly, I loved my role on Colorado and L.A., but at the same time, we never had a Niklas Kronwall on our team,” Quincey said. “So, there’s a reason why I’m not playing 25 minutes here.
“Even when I was playing those minutes and playing on the power play, what really gave me pride and joy on the ice was shutting down the other team’s lines.”
As the Free Press points out, Quincey has helped the Red Wings penalty kill, which entered Tuesday night’s action second in the league. The Wings are also seventh in goals-against at 2.27.
“We’re up there,” Quincey said. “At the same time, we need to continue to do what we’re doing. At the same time, we have to figure out how to jump up, how to chip in…when we do that, that’s hard to not win. We’re going to focus on keep shutting the door and if we can chip in that’s a bonus.”