ESPN’s Dmitri Filipovic penned an article discussing the free agency plans which he believes would best benefit the NHL’s Atlantic Division teams, and here’s what Filipovic had to say about the Red Wings:
It would behoove the Red Wings to avoid taking on any bad future money. Everything that’s not completely bolted down for the long haul should be in play, and every free-agent contract they hand out should be of the shorter-term variety. They should use this as an opportunity to figure out what they truly have in all of their young players, giving them a chance to play through growing pains and get the necessary reps at this level. If there are any veterans that either don’t have other obvious landing spots or are looking to rebuild their value on the fly, they can offer them prime scoring minutes and the promise that they’ll be moved to a contender at the deadline should they produce. They’ve made at least 10 picks over the past three drafts — 32 total, although the 2017 class was disastrous, with five of their picks not even being signed as of this writing — and already own nine picks in 2020, a number that’ll only grow between now and the trade deadline.
The good news is that new GM Steve Yzerman comes in with a blank slate and a long leash, allowing the Red Wings to see this rebuild through properly without any real desperation to misguidedly fast track things with quick fixes. Missing the playoffs for three seasons in a row and counting is an especially bitter new reality for an organization that prided itself on the 25-year stretch that came before it, but at least there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel in Detroit. That’s something that couldn’t be said a couple of years ago, when they were bad but also stuck with no cards to play.
