On Friday, it was reported the pivot would begin skating with Lugano of the Swiss-based National League, which was later confirmed by Red Wings general manager Ken Holland.
"He called me today just to say that he is going to Europe," Holland told Greg Kruppa of The Detroit News. "Double-A’s going to Europe."
The highly publicized stalemate between the two sides has always had a European connection, with Athanasiou reportedly considering a lucrative one-year deal with a KHL-based club.
Since negotiations have dragged into the regular season, and with Detroit having minimal salary cap space for the 2017-18 campaign, it seems increasingly likely that Athanasiou will be spending more time in European rinks than on NHL ice surfaces.
Athanasiou has no commitment with any club overseas, but is weighing all his options.
The clubs remain largely intact, with the exception of a few offseason tweaks, and it will be interesting to see if there is any lingering hostility between Sidney Crosby and P.K. Subban.
Nick Bonino will also be especially motivated for the tilt, considering he joined the Predators as a free agent in the offseason after winning back-to-back titles with the Penguins.
Hitchcock battles Blues
A matchup between the always competitive St. Louis Blues and a revamped Dallas Stars squad might be compelling enough on its own, but it's even more interesting given Ken Hitchcock will face the club that fired him back in February.
Hitchcock and the Stars met the Blues twice in the preseason, with the Stars winning both contests by a combined 9-3 margin, but it's going to be for real this time.
It's obviously not Hitchcock's first go-round with Dallas, but he'd surely like to make a statement against St. Louis early in his second Stars tenure, and in the regular season.
Panarin vs. Saad
The Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off one of the most unexpected moves of the summer, and the two principal figures of the trade will have their first opportunity to determine who won it Saturday.
Artemi Panarin scored 61 goals combined in his two seasons with the Blackhawks, and he'll look to prove they made a mistake by dealing him away for Brandon Saad.
Saad notched a hat trick in Chicago's 10-1 destruction of the Penguins on Thursday night, and he looks more than comfortable back in his familiar spot alongside Jonathan Toews.
The Blue Jackets and Blackhawks split their two preseason meetings, but now they'll square off with points in the standings at stake.
Welcome back, Karl
Over in D.C., another reunion will take place when Karl Alzner plays his first game in the U.S. capital as a member of the opposition.
He spent parts of nine seasons with the Capitals, so he'll likely get a warm reception from the fans before attempting to prove Washington erred by letting him walk over the summer.
This could be awkward
Will Butcher won't have to wait long to get his first crack at the club he wasn't interested in playing for.
Back in August, Butcher chose not to sign with the Colorado Avalanche, the team that drafted him back in 2013, instead becoming a free agent and joining the New Jersey Devils.
Those two clubs get the 15-game slate started with the lone matinee Saturday, and the early game will also be worth watching to see how Nico Hischier fares in his NHL debut.
Rivalry renewed
The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are both arguably fading from deep postseason contention, but they always bring it when they play each other.
Saturday's nightcap pits the Pacific Division foes against each other in what could be another spirited contest.
If their playoff meetings and countless regular-season battles of the past were any indication, it should be.
DALLAS (AP) James Neal scored twice in the third period Friday night, rallying the Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in the debut of the first major pro sports franchise in Las Vegas.
The expansion team was playing five days after the shooting that killed 58 people in Las Vegas, and the Dallas players honored the desert city by forming a line next to their Vegas counterparts before the national anthem.
With the video board reading ''Viva Las Vegas'' above the players, the public address announcer said ''Dallas stands with Vegas and those affected by the horrifying tragedy.''
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 45 of 46 shots to help the Golden Knights become the first expansion to open with a victory since the Ottawa Senators in 1992. They also spoiled coach Ken Hitchcock's return to Dallas 18 years after he directed the franchise's only Stanley Cup title.
Both of Neal's goals came against Kari Lehtonen after Ben Bishop left with an apparent facial injury after taking a puck to the mask. Bishop had stopped all 19 shots in his Dallas debut after coming over in a trade with Los Angeles and signing a long-term contract with the Stars.
A former Dallas player and expected to be a top offensive threat for the Golden Knights, Neal beat a screened Lehtonen between the legs midway through the third period for the tying goal.
The go-ahead goal came in transition when Neal got the puck past from Lehtonen from his knees with 2:44 remaining. Lehtonen shared the job with Antti Niemi the past two seasons, and the Stars made it clear in the offseason they were going a new direction at goalie.
Tyler Seguin opened the scoring late in the second period when he redirected a pass from Devin Shore past Marc-Andre Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh before being unprotected in the expansion draft.
The Stars had plenty to celebrate as well, marking 25 seasons since moving from Minnesota with plenty of highlights while three-time golf major winner Jordan Spieth and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-broadcaster Tony Romo watched from a suite.
The biggest pregame roar came when Hitchcock was introduced, right after a highlight reel that included Brett Hull's Stanley Cup-winning goal when Hitchcock was behind the bench in 1999.
Technically, it's the 24th season for the Dallas Stars because of the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season. They moved from Minnesota for the 1993-94 season.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: At Arizona on Saturday night.
Stars: Hitchcock's return to St. Louis on Saturday night.
James Neal will now forever be the answer to the trivia question: Who scored the first goal in the history of the Vegas Golden Knights?
Neal's tally on Kari Lehtonen, who took over for an injured Ben Bishop, evened things at one goal apiece in the club's inaugural game against the Dallas Stars on Friday night.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in his NHL debut and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves in the Columbus Blue Jackets' 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Rookie Sonny Milano scored 1:07 into the game, and the 19-year-old Dubois made it 5-0 midway through the second period. Arena. Cam Atkinson, Ryan Murray and Zach Werenski also scored, newcomer Artemi Panarin had three assists, and Alexander Wennberg added two assists.
Islanders starter Thomas Greiss made 21 saves before being pulled after giving up Dubois' goal. Jaroslav Halak stopped all 11 shots he faced in relief.
With all of the offensive opportunities created by the Blue Jackets, it could have been worse.
Columbus scored on its first shot of the season when Oliver Bjorkstrand shoveled the puck out from the back wall to Milano for a 10-footer that he snapped past Greiss.
Midway through the first period, Panarin circled in and teed up a pass that grazed Greiss' stick and was redirected into the net off Atkinson's skate. The whole sequence midway came about after Atkinson picked off a pass in the neutral zone and fed Panarin, who flashed some of the speed and offensive skill that led Columbus to acquire him from Chicago.
Murray scored from the left circle 6:57 into the second period after getting a pass from Panarin, who had carried the puck around the back of the net. Later on a power play, Werenski grabbed a sharp rebound and slammed it past Greiss from about 60 feet.
Dubois - the third overall pick in 2016 - got his first NHL goal, a wrister from the slot, 1:25 later.
NOTES: Atkinson has scored in four straight season openers. ... Panarin was the first player in Columbus franchise history to get three points in his club debut. ... The Blue Jackets loaned RW Josh Anderson to Cleveland of the American Hockey League for conditioning. He didn't participate in training camp because of a contract dispute. The team also sent D Markus Nutivaara to Cleveland. ... Columbus is the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 25. .... D Ryan Pulock, D Scott Mayfield and C Joshua Ho-Sang were healthy scratches for New York. D Scott Harrington was scratched for Columbus. ... Shane Prince and Alan Quine are out with injuries for New York. ... Boone Jenner, who is out with an injury for Columbus, saw his consecutive-game streak stopped at 175.
UP NEXT:
New York: Hosts Buffalo on Saturday night.
Columbus: At Chicago on Saturday night.
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Prior to the playing of the national anthem at the Stars' home opener and the Golden Knights' inaugural game, the entire Stars team made their way over to Vegas' blue line, and stood behind them in a show of support for the recent shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and more than 500 wounded.
While the support of Vegas was certainly the focal point of the gesture, the moment of silence prior to the game was also out of respect for the late Dave Strader, the Stars' play-by-play announcer who recently lost his battle with cancer, and Promise Hamilton, a graphic design employee with the team who was killed by a drunk driver over the summer.
When it comes to matters more important than a game, the hockey community stands together.
With his contract negotiations stuck in neutral, Andreas Athanasiou is reportedly headed to Switzerland.
The restricted free agent is flying to the European nation Friday night and will start skating with Lugano of the Swiss-based National League, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports.
Athanasiou hasn't signed a contract or made any commitments in Switzerland, and the forward will evaluate his options once he begins skating there, adds McKenzie.
The Detroit Red Wings reportedly offered the 23-year-old a two-year, $3.8-million contract last month.
There was thought to have been some progress made in talks in September, but the Red Wings opened training camp, then the preseason, and then the regular season Thursday night without him.
Athanasiou has 27 goals and 43 points in 101 games over his first two campaigns with Detroit.
Pickard, 25, was acquired by Vegas in the expansion draft from the Colorado Avalanche, but was made expendable when the club decided to claim Malcolm Subban off waivers from the Boston Bruins.
With the Avs last year, Pickard posted a record of 15-31-2 with a .904 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.
With a superior team in front of him, Pickard upped his game while competing for Team Canada at the 2017 World Championship, recording a .938 save percentage, and a 1.49 goals-against average in seven games, backstopping Canada to a silver medal.
Curtis McElhinney was penciled in as the Leafs' backup to Frederik Andersen, but his future with the club is now foggy to say the least with Pickard in the fold.
