White won't be back in Detroit. He'll find work somewhere, but I think his best days are behind him (odd to say considering he's under 30).
Update #2: Via RedWingsFeed, MLive's Ansar Khan offers the lamentful tale of one Ian White:
Ian White played for four different teams in just two seasons before arriving in Detroit, where he thought he found stability. Instead, his tenure ended on a sour note this season. The defenseman who turns 29 on Tuesday will be on the move again.
“It’s real disappointing to have it end this way,'' White said. “When I came here, and after last year, I thought I might be able to have a long future here.''
He added, “I love playing here, it’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to play (regularly) this year. It’s probably somewhat doubtful that you bring back some guy that you’re not going to play. The most unfortunate part of our business is moving around all of the time and switching teams, but that’s the nature of the game.''
White won't be re-signed. If that wasn't obvious when he was scratched for the final nine regular season games and all 14 playoff games, coach Mike Babcock made it crystal clear during locker clean-out day Friday.
“It didn't go the way Whitey wanted it,'' Babcock said. “Whitey's a real good person, a real good man. We wish him luck.''
White's season started going downhill following a six-game stretch from Feb. 15-24 in which he posted a minus-6 rating. He was a healthy scratch the next six games. White appeared to re-establish himself, playing from mid-March to early April. But, after rookie Danny DeKeyser made his debut and immediately secured a regular spot in the lineup, White was the odd-man out again.
“I thought I was playing pretty well,'' White said. “I played seven games in a row and I was on the ice for one goal against. I scored a goal too. Not letting goals in is what I’m paid to do. For whatever reason I wasn’t in the mix. Sometimes that’s how it goes.”