NHL Rumors: Red Wings Forward Open To Extension

Detroit Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov told reporters that he is very interested in signing an extension with the team.

Namestnikov is in the final year of his contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer. As a result of this, he is viewed as one of Detroit's top rental candidates. Given the forward's directness, we will now have to wait and see if the Red Wings decide to pursue extension talks with him. He has been making a good case for himself to stay.

In 40 games this season with the Red Wings, he has 11 goals and nine helpers. He is certainly performing much better than he did last season, too. In 53 games that year, he had eight goals and 17 points. If he can continue to keep his current pace of play up, it does seem possible that Detroit could extend him.

Namestnikov could be worth bringing back, but especially because he has expressed open desire to. Perhaps this will lead general manager Steve Yzerman to give him his extension. It's good for teams to have players who want to play the organization. Let's see if this leads to him getting locked up before season's end.