Former Red Wings left winger Taro Hirose has signed with EHC Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, according to a team announcement .
Hirose, 28, spent last season playing out the back half of a two-year, two-way extension signed with Detroit in 2022. For the first time since turning pro in 2019, however, he was buried entirely in the minors with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, where the 5’10”, 170-lb playmaker had 27 assists and 36 points in 54 games. The Red Wings didn’t bring him back after reaching unrestricted free agency in July.
Hirose has appeared in 60 NHL regular season games, all with Detroit – most recently, a three-game call-up in March and April 2023. An undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan State, the Winnipeg native has been an AHL fixture, only logging a career-high 26 NHL appearances with the Wings in 2019-20.
Overall, the 2019 NCAA scoring champion posted four goals, 16 assists, 20 points, and a -17 rating in 60 games with Detroit in parts of five seasons. He joins a Munich roster highlighted by a few other former NHLers, namely Adam Brooks , Tobias Rieder , and Ben Smith .