Report: Red Wings cut ties with former first-round pick Thomas McCollum

By Michael Caples –

MLive’s Ansar Khan is reporting that the Red Wings have cut ties with former first-round pick Thomas McCollum, and will not be offering him a new contract this off-season.

McCollum, 23, was selected 30th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft by the Red Wings, just weeks after the club’s last Stanley Cup championship.

The native of Amherst, N.Y., impressed during his Ontario Hockey League career with the Guelph Storm and Brampton Battalion, compiling a 2.33 goals-against average, a .92o save percentage, and 85 wins over three seasons.

Yet he never developed in the Red Wings’ system, spending the majority of his time with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

McCollum saw action in one Red Wings game, replacing Joey MacDonald in a regular-season contest on March 30, 2011. He allowed three goals on eight shots in 15 minutes worth of play.

He served as a back-up to Jimmy Howard during the 2012-13 regular season while Jonas Gustavsson battled injuries, but coach Mike Babcock expressed no confidence in replacing his starter with McCollum.