Red Wings sign Joe Veleno to two-year, $4.55 million deal

The Detroit Red Wings and forward Jsoeph Veleno were able to avoid arbitration and agree to terms on a two-year, $4.55 million deal with an AAV of $2,275,000, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Last season, Veleno scored 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 80 regular-season games with the Red Wings. Through four NHL seasons, the 24-year-old has 30 goals and 34 assists for 64 points in 232 career regular-season games.

Taken No. 30 overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Veleno bounced between the AHL and Sweden’s top professional league, in 2020-21 before earning a full-time spot with the Red Wings in 2021-22.

Veleno played four seasons in the QMJHL with the Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs, helping the Sea Dogs win the 2017 QMJHL President’s Cup.

In 2017-18, he started his season with Saint John before being traded to the Voltigeurs, where he would scored 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 33 games, finishing the regular season with a combined 22 goals and 57 assists for 79 points in 64 games. The Montreal native would be drafted by the Red Wings in the summer.

In his last junior season in 2018-19, Veleno scored 42 goals and 62 assists for 104 points in 59 games, followed with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 16 playoff games. After Drummondville was eliminated, the Red Wings signed him to a three-year, entry-level deal.

The Red Wings finished the 2023-24 season with a 41-32-9 record and 91 points, fifth in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, and missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the last day of the regular season, with the Washington Capitals squeaking in on a tie-breaker.