Highly sought after college UFA Dan DeKeyser signs with Detroit Red Wings

The 6-foot-3, 198-pound blueliner is a gifted two-way defender who excels in his own zone. He plays a simple, mature game, can play the body and makes a good first pass out of the zone. DeKeyser had two goals and 13 assists after two previous seasons of 17 points at the college level. He might have a little more offensive upside than his numbers suggest, but his defensive game is high end already.

Having spent the last two years under the tutelage of former NHL head coach Andy Murray and a year before that under Jeff Blashill, who left Western Michigan for a job with the Detroit Red Wings, DeKeyser is well schooled in what it takes to play at the next level. He clearly made the most of his extra year of development and all of the offers from last year are still there.

DeKeyser wouldn't be any team's savior. After all, he has no NHL experience and there would be some amount of adjustment. He's a good player who has an NHL skill set and he would almost certainly help a team right now though. What makes him so intriguing is that every single team in the league has a chance to make a valuable acquisition without sparing any more than a maximum entry-level contract.