Red Wings sign Wilmer Skoog to one-year deal

A prospect is getting a new start in Hockeytown.

On the opening day of NHL free agency, the Detroit Red Wings announced that the team has signed forward Wilmer Skoog to a one-year, two-way contract.

Skoog had spent the first three years of his NHL career in the Florida Panthers‘ system. After playing under an American Hockey League contract with the Charlotte Checkers and the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, he earned his first NHL contract with the Panthers in 2024. It wasn’t until this past year that the Swedish winger made his debut with the big club, doing so on April 11 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He posted two assists in the season finale, coincidentally, against the Red Wings, the first two points of his NHL career. He had a plus/minus of +3, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time.

Skoog had the most all-around productive season of his AHL career as well. In 61 games with the Checkers, he scored 18 goals and 19 assists for a career-best 37 points, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. He added an assist in three games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, as Charlotte was eliminated in the first round of the Atlantic Division playoffs by the Springfield Thunderbirds.

In 182 regular-season games with the Checkers, the 26-year-old has posted 49 goals and 43 assists for 92 points, with another eight points in 24 postseason games. He was on the Charlotte team that made it to the Calder Cup Final in 2025, ultimately losing to the Abbotsford Canucks.

Prior to his pro career, Skoog found some success at the collegiate level with Boston University. In his senior season, he notched a career-best 31 points as the Terriers made it to the Frozen Four.