I got beaten to the punch on the Vladislav Namestnikov signing out of sheer exhaustion (sorry).
Now, MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an article that duly notes the Red Wings have done a fantastic job of signing a core of low-risk, high-reward unrestricted free agents to short-term deals over the past three days, affording the team roster flexibility and a set of players looking to prove themselves on a rebuilding team:
The Red Wings have more NHL-quality players – several players they parted with will not play in the league anymore.
The Red Wings have roughly $18.7 million of cap space, according to capfriendly.com. That is enough to re-sign Mantha and Bertuzzi and possibly add a hefty expiring contract for a draft pick, like they did with Staal.
More changes are in store. The Red Wings are not likely to be in playoff contention at the trade deadline, whenever that may be, and are in position to stock up on more draft picks by moving many of their impending unrestricted free agents. The list includes Ryan, Staal, Merrill, Gagner, Helm, Filppula, Nemeth, Glendening and Bernier.
They already have three second-round picks and two third-rounders in 2021. More selections equals more opportunities to find impact players, further helping the rebuild.
Yzerman has roster and financial flexibility moving forward while improving the team for 2020-21, at least on paper.
Khan continues, and, put bluntly, this is how you reshape a roster smartly. Low-risk deals and new faces who are determined to prove themselves again.
