This comes to us via a Tweet from radio host extraordinaire Sean Baligian, and the Hockey News’s Mike Stephens, who suggests that the Red Wings remain a “dark horse” candidate to land none other than unrestricted free agent winger Nazem Kadri (and ignore the part where Ville Husso is listed as a free agent signing instead of a traded player):
Detroit Red Wings
Cap Space: $10,296,111Detroit’s rebuild is over. You don’t sign Ville Husso, Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Olli Maata, and Mark Pysyk all in the same offseason if you’re looking to lose.
These Red Wings mean business once again, boasting a decent young core that is now supported by useful veterans while currently sitting with over $10 million in cap space even after their summer signing spree.
A top-nine headlined down the middle by Kadri, Larkin, and Copp looks pretty good to me. All that’s left is to reel their big fish in.
Detroit seems to offer everything Kadri could be looking for in a landing spot with whom he’d be spending the remaining years of his prime.
With Steve Yzerman leading the way up top, the Red Wings have solid and entrenched leadership in the front office, a robust player development department on the ice, and the financial resources to remain a serious player in free agency for years to come.
Sure, the icy chill of Michigan winters might scare off other prospective free agents. But Kadri has spent his entire career to date in Toronto and Denver; the two locales aren’t exactly known for their balmy temperatures.
Has the Red Wings’ offseason been perfect? Heck, no. Handing Chiarot nearly $5 million over four years is the type of deal I thought Yzerman was smart enough to avoid. But when it comes to organizational prestige, odds of contention, and financial flexibility, no other logical destination seems to come close.
Continued, with the Avs, Islanders and Kraken as the favorites to sign Kadri…
