ESPN’s Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski posted a MASSIVE free agency primer on ESPN.com’s Insider page today, assessing what each and every one of the NHL’s 30 teams should/might want to accomplish over the course of free agency. Here’s what they have to say about the Red Wings:
Key players hitting UFA: None
Key players hitting RFA: D Jake Walman, RW Filip Zadina, F Mitchell Stephens
Cap space: $31,021,111What they should do: General manager Steve Yzerman already checked a big box by trading for the rights to pending unrestricted-free-agent goaltender Ville Husso and subsequently signing him to a three-year, $14.25 million contract. That gives the Red Wings an excellent goalie tandem of Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic for the next few seasons.
Detroit’s primary area of need now is on defense. Veterans Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal are both pending UFAs, and should they move on elsewhere, Yzerman will be eyeing different depth players for the back end, with a potentially larger role also going to Jake Walman if he remains in the fold. You could see Yzerman going for someone like Will Butcher or Olli Maatta, or perhaps Ian Cole. Those are capable second- or third-pairing defenders who can support and provide stability for the team’s top defensive talents like Moritz Seider. And they could be signed to relatively inexpensive, short-term contracts for the rebuilding Red Wings.
Similarly, there’s room for Detroit to boost its forward depth with some seasoned names like Bryan Rust or Calle Jarnkrok. They’re strong two-way players who can set an example for some of Detroit’s young players with enough offensive upside to be consistent contributors.
While the Red Wings are still charting their new course — under new head coach Derek Lalonde to boot — it’s all about staying low-flash in free agency.
Continued (paywall; read it if you can); it would be incredibly ironic if the Red Wings picked up the 30-year-old Jarnkrok as a free agent.
