Robitaille Will Not Return to Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings made an expected move Monday by parting ways with left wing Luc Robitaille.

Detroit decided not to exercise its option on Robitaille’s contract for next season, saving the team $3 million -- perhaps to spend on players such as Sergei Fedorov.

The 37-year-old Robitaille has 631 goals, ranking first in NHL history among left wings. But he scored only 11 times this season, his 17th. Robitaille managed an assist in four games of the first-round playoff series loss to the Mighty Ducks.

The Red Wings will pay Robitaille $1 million for next season, instead of the $4 million they would have paid if they picked up his option.

“Luc had a great year two years ago scoring 30 goals to help us win the Stanley Cup, but he just didn’t have quite the same season this year,” General Manager Ken Holland said.

“We talked to Luc about that a few days ago and let him know that we’re going with some younger players. He understood that.

“We’re going to find time for Boyd Devereaux on the left wing and Jason Williams will probably make our team up front next season.

“We may also have Igor Grigorenko and Jiri Hudler as forwards on our roster next season, so there may not be a lot of available spots.”

Robitaille has also played for the Kings, Penguins and Rangers.

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Montreal forward Jan Bulis agreed to a two-year contract extension. The 25-year-old scored a career-high 40 points in 82 games.

Terms of the deal were not released. His salary was $750,000 this season.