"He loves Detroit but you only get the chance to be (an unrestricted) free agent once, maybe twice, in a career," Hudler's agent Petr Svoboda told the News.
Although Wings GM Ken Holland is looking to have Hudler back in his lineup, the center is expected to be targeted by several teams.
After failing to reach an agreement in recent negotiations, Holland could lose Hudler, who is likely to command an annual cap hit of $4 million, as the GM is reportedly not willing to match that figure.
Last season, Hudler earned a cap hit of $2.875 million.
"We'll see what happens but Jiri would love to return to Detroit," Svoboda said. "We'll see what happens Sunday and go from there."
Meanwhile, the Wings are planning on recruiting some free agents in the hopes of turning a unfortunate first-round playoff exit and the loss of star defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart into a Cup contending club.
The team has close to $18 million to spend this off-season. They are expected to take part into the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter sweepstakes, while exploring other options like forwards P.A. Parenteau of the New York Islanders, Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes, and former Wing Mikael Samuelsson.
They could also target Matt Carle and Pavel Kubina of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jason Garrison of the Panthers and Filip Kuba of the Ottawa Senators to improve their blueline.
"We'll start making our calls (at noon) and be ready to go," Holland said. "Things can happen quickly. You have to be ready to go from Plan A to Plan B and Plan C."
