The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighs in on the Red Wings’ first-day-of-free-agency moves in her morning column:
Ben Chiarot, one of five players the Detroit Red Wings added on opening day of free agency, summed up the appeal: “Steve Yzerman builds good teams. I think everyone knows that.”
Yzerman sent a message Wednesday when he signed Chiarot, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Dominik Kubalik and Olli Määttä: Expectations on the Wings have grown exponentially. Since the Wings played their last game on April 29, Yzerman has replaced Jeff Blashill with new head coach Derek Lalonde, acquired goaltender Ville Husso, and now added five players who want to be a part of the Wings’ resurgence.
“First of all, the moment you get a call from Steve Yzerman, it catches your attention right away,” Perron said. “I had several options I was bouncing around in my head, but the Red Wings are a team with some of the signings that happened, I think they are ready to take the next step in their evolution as a team and I want to be a part of that.”
Yzerman did not talk to media on Wednesday, indicating he may have more moves planned. As it stood Wednesday night, Yzerman had used his cachet and his salary cap space to significantly improve the Wings on offense and defense: Copp, 28, got five years, $28.125 million; Chiarot, 31, got four years, $19 million; Perron, 34, got two years, $9.5 million, Kubalik, 26, got two years, $5 million and Määttä, 27, got one year, $2.25 million. That still leaves about $11 million.
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The Wings have struggled with depth for so many seasons, Wednesday’s influx seemed like a piñata burst. The five additions weren’t the most coveted free agents, but they’re quality players who strengthen the team, and they’re fully on board with what Yzerman is trying to accomplish.
“Steve did a great job building the team in Tampa,” Copp said. “He was there for a while and drafted a bunch of the guys and turned that into a big part of where they are at today. Detroit is going to be good in a couple years, just wait. I’d like to be a part of that, I’d like to continue to grow with the team, and try to get to that ultimate goal.”
