Witkowski, a physical, stay-at-home defenseman not known for his offense, scored his first NHL goal in his fourth NHL season in 2017-18.
After being selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (No. 160) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Witkowski had a four-year college career at Western Michigan University, where he had seven goals and 235 penalty minutes in 152 games.
Witkowski, a physical, stay-at-home defenseman not known for his offense, scored his first NHL goal in his fourth NHL season in 2017-18.
After being selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (No. 160) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Witkowski had a four-year college career at Western Michigan University, where he had seven goals and 235 penalty minutes in 152 games.
He spent the majority of the next three seasons (2013-16) with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, scoring seven goals in 196 games.
He made his NHL debut with the Lightning in a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 20, 2015 and had to wait 72 more games before his first goal. That came in a 3-1 win with the Detroit Red Wings, who signed him to a two-year contract before the season, against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 17, 2018.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- CCHA Second All-Star Team (2013)
- Signed as a free agent by Detroit, July 1, 2017.
- Signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay, July 1, 2019.
- Signed as a free agent by Detroit, July 29, 2021.
- Traded to St. Louis by Detroit with Nick Leddy for Jake Walman, Oskar Sundqvist and a 2nd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, March 21, 2022.
