With Johan Fransson, Henrik Tömmernes (SWE), Nathan Gerbe (USA) and Nick Spaling (CAN), the Grenats currently have four imports on their roster for the 2017-18 season. However, as the team has gathered only nine points in the past twelve Championship games, a call for change and a potential reinforcement has arisen.
According to The Hockey News, Athanasiou also has contract offers from HC Lugano (despite them saying otherwise) and Lausanne HC. Furthermore, KHL team Avangard Omsk are offering him a $2.5 million deal, and several NHL teams (Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings) have called the Red Wings about him. Detroit is, however, not actively shopping him.
While his agent Darren Ferris did not comment on the speculations regarding his player's future, he did say that the "situation will be resolved one way or another within a week".
Athanasiou, who is currently in practice with HC Lugano to keep himself in shape, reportedly aims to make a decision between playing in Switzerland and re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings before the Karjala Cup at the beginning of November. So far, the 2012 fourth-round pick has appeared in a total of 106 NHL games, scoring 28 goals and 16 assists.
Last Update: 11 October 2017, 10:53 PM | rlu/jca
