The Detroit Red Wings filled a couple of “holes” in the roster in the low-risk signings of Bobby Ryan and Jon Merrill today, but the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan duly notes that the Wings are not done in terms of achieving their free agency roster-reinforcing goals:
“Obviously we still have some positions to fill that we will continue to pursue,” Yzerman said. “We still have some holes in our lineup we’re trying to address in free agency. If we’re not able to do that, we’ll kind of wait and see what other opportunities may come over the remainder of the offseason, depending on what some of the other teams do.”
The Wings need a goaltender to team with Jonathan Bernier, could use another defenseman, and another forward, so there is work to be done.
Yzerman was honest about the state of his team as far as free agency is concerned:
“Based on what we’ve done to date this year and what we did with free agents last year, we’re looking at shorter-term contracts with the free agents,” Yzerman said. “We’re trying to surround the younger players with high-quality veterans, with guys who can help our team get better, help our young guys improve and be professional and make us more competitive, and try to improve our team, and buy time (for) our young guys develop in the American League, juniors, college.
“We’re trying to be more competitive. We’re not opposed to the longer-term deals, bigger contracts on free agents. But at this stage, we choose, more maybe, to go with the shorter term and allow our young guys to develop.
“In the situation we’re in, in the economy we’re in, and all the uncertainty of whether we’re playing in front of fans, or not in front of fans, what we’re going to look like (as a league), the short term deals, in a lot of cases, makes sense for both sides.”
For Bobby Ryan, the decision to sign with the Red Wings was a fairly easy one, as WXYZ’s Brad Galli noted…
Bobby Ryan was looking for a fresh start and a place to revive his career after it was stunted in part by alcohol issues.
Ryan was sold on that happening with the Detroit Red Wings. A long conversation with general manager Steve Yzerman sealed the deal even though it was the first discussion Ryan had with suitors during NHL free agency.
”It was a 45-minute call that left me with the feeling that it was the right fit without knowing else what else was out there,” Ryan said Friday after agreeing to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Red Wings.
Detroit had the NHL’s worst team last season, but Yzerman told Ryan the team would be better and he could be a big part of the turnaround by getting a lot of ice time to prove his once-promising career is not over.
Ryan continued that redemptive line of thought while speaking with the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch…
“It left me with the impression it was the right fit without knowing what else was out there,” Ryan said. “It didn’t feel like it was going to matter (what else was said). It was where I wanted to be, based on the conversation, and the passion that just comes through for the Red Wings from him is contagious.
“I left (the meeting), walked out of the room and told my wife (Danielle) I think we’re signing in Detroit and that I would go through the process like I should, but I somehow didn’t need to hear anything else from anybody.”
Ryan has bravely told his story of his battle with alcoholism because he wanted to help others and he was the Masterton Trophy winner this year. After being bought out by the Senators last month, he told this newspaper he was disappointed he “wouldn’t be able to pay it forward” for this fanbase after all the support he received when he returned to the lineup in December. This is an opportunity for a fresh start.
“I thought I’d be upset for longer with the way things ended in Ottawa,” Ryan said. “But it was my wife who just finally said, ‘Listen, you’re going to get an opportunity for the first time in your career to dictate where you live and where you go play next.’ I don’t think that had dawned on me.
“I told you personally I really wanted to finish things out in Ottawa from a standpoint of paying it back for what the fans allowed me to do by getting help and then supporting me in my first few games at home. It meant the world to me and that’s something I’ll remember. This fresh start has never felt better. Two days ago when I talked to Steve, I knew where I was headed and it was solidified in my mind.”
Yzerman wasn’t the only person that the Nashville-based Ryan spoke to, however, as MLive’s Ansar Khan noted:
Just in case, a call to Dylan Larkin assured Ryan that while the Red Wings are down now, players are committed to reversing their fortunes, and he can provide a boost with his scoring ability, right-handed shot and leadership.
“He mentioned, ‘You can come in and we can be a much more competitive team,’ ” Ryan said. “We’re a year older, we dealt through a little more (adversity), there’s going to be some other players coming in.’ They have a good feeling they’re going to be a much more competitive team. That’s all I needed to hear.
“I did ask, ‘Are you guys bogged down by the losing? Has it gotten to you in the sense that you’re just accepting it?’ Because that would have been a big red flag for me. One thing that was told to me was, ‘Coach (Jeff Blashill) would have been fired if we all accepted that.’ So, you understand this is not a group of guys that wants to lose. And they’re not going to lose for long. I hope I can help facilitate them into that next stage.
“I selfishly have dreams of getting back to the Bobby Ryan I was early Ottawa/late Anaheim days. I know that’s a tall order, but that’s the expectations I’m going to continue to set for myself.”
Ryan made no bones about his desire to restart his career, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted…
“Part of it is a chance to regain my form, for sure,” Ryan said Friday. “There’s a bit of selfishness in that, but I think people understand that had a lot to do with why I picked Detroit. I selfishly have dreams of getting back to the Bobby Ryan I was early Ottawa/late Anaheim days, and I know that’s a tall order.”
Over the past year, Ryan has had time to heal, physically and emotionally. He was limited to 24 games in 2019-20, spending three months in an NHL assistance program for alcohol abuse. Ryan returned to the Senators’ lineup Feb. 25, and recorded a hat trick one game later. He was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (for perseverance and dedication to hockey, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association) after the season ended.
Ryan (6 feet 2 and about 200 pounds) should help the Wings offensively, slotting next to Dylan Larkin or Robby Fabbri. In possession of a big, right-handed shot, it’s hard to think Ryan won’t help the power play. In 833 games with Anaheim and Ottawa, Ryan has 254 goals (62 of them on power plays) and 301 assists.
But Ryan’s here for more than a one-off, as he told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan…
Ryan also had a positive conversation with Dylan Larkin about the state of the Wings.
“He mentioned, ‘Listen if you come in, we can be a much more competitive team than we were last year’,” Ryan said. “He said, ‘We’re a year older and dealt through last year’ and there are other players coming in. They have a feeling they will be a much more competitive team and that’s what I needed to hear.
“I asked him whether you’re bogged down by the losing and it’s gotten to you and if they’ve accepted it, and that would have been a big red flag for me. But it was told to me that the coach would have been fired if they’d accepted it, so you understand it’s a group that doesn’t like to lose and they’re not going to lose for long. I hope I can facilitate them to the next stage.”
But there are some synergies for Ryan as well:
A New Jersey native who moved to Detroit as a teenager to play youth hockey for Honeybaked, Ryan moved on to the Ontario Hockey League before being selected second overall by Anaheim in the 2005 NHL draft.
“It’s just amazing, my hockey career started here in Michigan,” Ryan said. “I hope when I get there to kind of reinvigorate myself and this team. Selfishly I have dreams of getting back to the Bobby Ryan I was early in Ottawa and late in my Anaheim days. I know that’s a tall order, but I have those expectations I set for myself.”
Ryan continued while speaking with 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield:
When Ryan signed on Friday with the Wings, one of his friends pointed out the symmetry with Detroit. His life both bottomed out and began anew in the city where he’ll try to revive his career.
“An old buddy actually just told me that. I didn’t even put two and two together until after the fact, that I had left the team from Detroit to go to California to get help,” Ryan said. “It’s just amazing how my hockey career kind of started in Michigan with Detroit HoneyBaked and then going to the OHL from there, my personal life started to get better after I left (Detroit) to seek help, and now I hope that it professionally gets better going back there to kind of reinvigorate myself and help this team get better and help myself get better on the ice.”
Ryan means that last part. He knows he’s not viewed as the All-Star he once was, and in some ways he knows he won’t be that player again. He joked more than once on Friday about the step or two he’s lost. But he also knows how he felt when he returned last season — “like I had jump every night, like I had just re-found hockey and the joy for it,” he said — and he knows what he’s capable of if that feeling lasts.
For Jon Merrill, the chance to “come home” loomed large in his decision-making process, as he told the Detroit News’s Kulfan…
The Grand Blanc native is a veteran defenseman in the NHL, having played 356 games between New Jersey and Vegas. But signing a one-year contract with the Red Wings Friday, his hometown team, the one the 28-year-old cheered for as a kid, this felt good.
“It’s endless,” said Merrill, of his hockey memories growing up. “Going down to the Joe (Louis Arena) as a kid, playing for Little Caesars. Playing Michigan State (Merrill played at Michigan along with Luke Glendening) in the GLI.”
There was one more memorable thought that popped into Merrill’s mind.
“I was one of the flag bearers (skating onto the ice) in the playoffs when I was 13-year-old,” Merrill said. “A ton of memories. It’s really exciting for me and my family.”
Merrill grew up in Grand Blanc and moved to Brighton in eighth grade. He played his youth hockey with Little Caesars. Merrill was part of the Plymouth Township-based U.S. National Development Team Program, and played college hockey at Michigan, alongside Glendening.
“He (Glendening) was one of the first people to reach out and say congratulations,” Merrill said. “(UM) was incredible memories I’ll never forget, and friendships that’ll last for a whole lifetime. It was a great experience. I’m excited to be back and get back on campus because I haven’t been back so much.
“(USNTDP) was extremely instrumental for me as a player and person. Even though it was only a few miles down the road, you’re away from home in a sense. The training regimen they have there is something I wasn’t used to and it was crucial to spend those two years in Ann Arbor (now Plymouth Township-based).”
So where do the Wings go from here? The Athletic’s Max Bultman discussed that in a subscriber-only story which focuses on what both Ryan and Merrill can bring to the Wings’ “culture”:
“The biggest thing I learned from the first year in Vegas was just how much culture influences winning,” Merrill said. “I think we had a perfect recipe, if you want to say, that first season: of grit, of all different types of guys, all different roles of players, and it all just stemmed down to our chemistry. We loved playing with each other, we respected each other. So I think that was the biggest takeaway I had is, to win in the National Hockey League, you’ve gotta have good players, of course, but it starts in the dressing room, it starts with that culture every day and establishing that.”
Ryan and Merrill each check both of those boxes, and while the Red Wings still don’t project to challenge for the playoffs next season, a major step forward from the 17-win season they struggled through last year is a necessity. Ryan was spot-on about the perils of accepting losing, and both of Friday’s signings will help Detroit avoid that pitfall.
The Red Wings also likely aren’t done. One of the many benefits to these signings is that they preserved a significant amount of the Red Wings’ cap space, leaving all kinds of flexibility for other moves.
The team still needs to find another goaltender in free agency, with Thomas Greiss, Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell among the most prominent remaining names. Adding another forward and defenseman seem plausible as well, based on Yzerman’s comments before the opening of free agency.
And, of course, there’s the potential to take on a contract via trade, in order to pick up another draft pick or prospect from a team hurting for cap space.
Detroit still has three restricted free agents to sign in Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmytro Timashov, but after opening free agency with a pair of shrewd signings, the Red Wings still have room to do just about anything they want.
So that’s where we are tonight.
Let’s give George a Five-Star rating for this summary. 🙂
In my dozen or more years following him, he has excelled at this—in my opinion, this is one of his best.
Also, I look forward to next year with Prospect Tournaments, etc., where he can show us more of his biggest strength, evaluating players.
Welcome back George.