A less-heralded Winnipeg Jets forward departed the team via free agency with very little fanfare. “I haven’t touched base with Mason Appleton,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said on Friday. “It is hard.

Mason Appleton is leaving the Winnipeg Jets for the second time. The free-agent forward has signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings that has an average annual value of $2.9 million, according to PuckPedia.

The Detroit Red Wings signed center Mason Appleton to a two-year contract Wednesday with an annual average value of $2.9 million. That seems like a hefty price for a 29-year-old coming off a 10-goal, 22-point season in 71 games for the Winnipeg Jets.