Detroit and Hirose Agree to Terms

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday agreed to terms with left wing Taro Hirose on a one-year contract extension.

Hirose, 24, split his 2019-20 rookie season between the Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins. He tied for third on the Griffins with 22 assists and 27 points (5-22—27) despite appearing in only 35 of the team’s 63 games. Assigned to Grand Rapids on Dec. 3 after starting the season in Detroit, Hirose contributed more assists and points than any Griffin from that point forward.

The 5-foot-10, 162-pound winger racked up 10 assists during a team-high seven-game assist streak from Jan. 18-Feb. 14, tying for the fifth-longest streak of its kind in the American Hockey League last season.

In 26 games for the Red Wings, Hirose collected seven points (2-5—7) and ranked second behind Filip Zadina among the team’s rookie scorers. He recorded two assists in his first four NHL games of the season and had assists in back-to-back outings Oct. 27-29, then became the 183rd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he returned to Detroit’s lineup on Feb. 6 at Buffalo.

Hirose made his pro debut with Detroit during a 10-game stint at the end of the 2018-19 campaign after signing an entry-level contract on March 12, 2019. He has logged 14 points (3-11—14) in 36 career NHL contests.

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Hirose spent three seasons (2016-19) at Michigan State University, where he racked up 116 points (33-83—116) and 39 PIM in 106 contests. During his final collegiate campaign in 2018-19, he tied for the NCAA lead with 50 points in 36 games on his way to being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist, a First Team All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year, a unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection, an Academic All-Big Ten selection, and to the All-College Hockey News First Team.