Winger Austin Watson has transferred during his professional tryout and signed a two-way contract with the Red Wings, according to a team release. According to PuckPedia, it’s a league minimum cap hit of $775,000 and an NHL salary with an AHL salary of $200,000 and a guaranteed $275,000. As Max Bultman of The Athletic pointed out on Sunday, he will likely begin the season on the NHL roster.

The Wings secured a spot on the roster by cutting the midfielder prospect Marco Kasper yesterday to AHL Grand Rapids. Watson will have to clear waivers if Detroit wants to send the veteran enforcer to the minors at any point this season, but right now all signs point to him starting as the 13th forward.

The 32-year-old Watson has 515 NHL games over 10 seasons. He qualified for the Lightning last year after another successful PTO, but only managed two goals and four points in 33 games with 93 PIMs and a +2 rating. The right winger has shown flashes of offensive potential, scoring 14 goals once during his time with the Predators and reaching the 10-goal mark again with the Senators in the 2021-22 season. However, averaging 10 goals and 19 points per 82 games over his career, he is a fourth-line option at best.

But the 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger is still an impactful physical presence. His possession numbers don’t suggest that his distinct style of play at even strength translates into any positive defensive impact, but he is consistently among his team’s hits leaders and has topped 100 PIMs in a season twice (2017-18, 2022-23 ).