On depth

I wanted the Red Wings to add more depth, even if it was expensive, over the course of free agency.

Over the past couple seasons, I’ve felt that the Wings weren’t betrayed by their lack of star power as much as they were betrayed by the fact that there weren’t any really solid depth players below the stars.

The Red Wings didn’t add any top-line players on Wednesday. Andrew Copp is a stalwart 2nd line center; David Perron, at 34, but still full of vigor, might be Copp’s scoring winger; the Wings took a big risk on a high-mileage Ben Chiarot, but he’s going to stabilize the middle of the Wings’ defense while adding snarl, and Olli Maatta, the guy everybody forgets, is forgettable because he’s so damn solid; Dominik Kubalik is, of course, probably a 2nd or 3rd line winger, but he might rediscover his scoring touch with old teammate Pius Suter on the third line…

And Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic give the Red Wings two solid goaltenders instead of one.

The Red Wings may not make the playoffs in 2022-2023, but I have a feeling that guys like Copp, Perron, Chiarot, Maatta, Kubalik and Husso might make the difference when they do.

If watching this summer’s development camp has reminded me of anything, it’s that you need players who embrace their roles, regardless of whether they’re the next Moritz Seider or the next Kris Draper. You want players who are going to excel at what they do, regardless of whether they’re top-line or top-pair talent or fourth-line grinders.

The Wings have some talent, they need some more, and in the interim, they really, really, really needed competent depth, and that’s what Steve Yzerman chose to add on Wednesday.

Will it be enough to push the Wings over the top in a stacked Atlantic Division, especially with Ottawa and Buffalo improving? I don’t know, but the Wings will be competitive, and that’s what we all want to see from a young and improving team.