Igor Grigorenko, Detroit's top draft pick in 2001 (second round, 62nd overall), signed a one-year, $858,800 contract with the Red Wings. Grigorenko, who has played his entire career is Russia, will be in training camp this fall competing for a spot on the roster. The 5-foot-10, 209-pound right wing had 14 goals and 27 points in 49 games this season with Lada Togliatti of the Russian Elite League. The contract is two-way and will pay Grigorenko $70,000 if he plays in the minor leagues.
The 24-year-old was in a major car accident, May 16, 2003, suffering a broken left femur and two fractures in his left tibia. It was while in the hospital for those injuries that Grigorenko had a life-threatening embolism in his lung, from which he eventually recovered.