Three Red Wings scribes have penned articles which discuss Detroit’s looming attempts to bolster its roster via unrestricted free agency:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan examines the free agent marketplace, prefacing his list of potential UFA signings with the following:
“I’d like to add some offense, but there’s no guarantees I can do anything,” Yzerman told media Thursday at the draft. “So, we’ll fill some spots. Who exactly, I’m not sure, or for how long or how much. That’s the nature of free agency. You know our roster, the guys we’ve traded (Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Filip Hronek). We’ll try to do that in some form or another. Keep our fingers crossed that we can score some more goals.”
The competition will be high for the top free agents.
“You got this long list, you got all these names, you’re lucky to get one or two,” Yzerman said. “We were able to get four or five guys last year. We’ll try to get the best ones we can, taking into account the term and cost of the contract.
“I think people are looking at the free-agent market and it’s kind of thin this year. If they want to improve their team, they’re looking at the trade market. There’s probably more needs than there are players at this point.”
2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen also discusses the Red Wings’ free agency outlook…
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman still wants to add a proven scorer. But he is always a realist.
“I certainly could see a world where we don’t,” Yzerman said. “I hope that doesn’t happen. I’d like to add some offense, but there’s no guarantees I can do anything.”
Yzerman said he talked to teams about trades before the first round of the draft Wednesday, but nothing materialized. The Red Wings were linked to talks about Ottawa’s Alex DeBrincat and Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny. Those players are still with their teams.
The Red Wings have the Boston Bruins’ first round pick next season to use to make a major trade.
Free agency starts Saturday, but options to land a scorer there are limited. Yzerman has a connection to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn. He has 55 goals over the past two seasons, and he’s a quality all-around player. But he turns 34 this fall. Vladimir Tarasenko is a six-time 30-plus goal scorer, but he turns 32 in December. Jason Zucker scored 27 goals last season, but he’s also 31. Players in their position don’t usually end up with rebuilding teams.
Maybe the most intriguing player in Toronto’s Michael Bunting. He’s 27 and he’s scored 23 goals in each of the past two seasons. There’s no question he is a skillful, but it’s unknown how Yzerman feels about him.
“We’ll fill some spots,” Yzerman said. “Who exactly, I’m not sure, or for how long or how much. That’s the nature of free agency, but we’d like to. You know our roster, the guys we’ve traded. We’ll try to do that in some form or another. Keep our fingers crossed that we can score some more goals.”
3. As does DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills:
“Obviously, we don’t have a goaltender signed,” Yzerman said on Thursday. “I’d like to do that. We need to do that. Look into the right-shot defensemen as well. And then just whatever mix up front. We have some roster spots open.”
And because of the league’s flat salary cap in the 2023-24 campaign, clubs are opting to explore – and some have executed — trades to improve their rosters rather than relying on the open market
Yzerman pointed out that every team “has different reasons for where they are and for doing what they’re doing.”
“Ultimately, I think people are looking at the free-agency market and it’s kind of thin this year,” Yzerman said. “So if they wanna improve their team, they’re looking at the trade market. You get some certainty if you make a trade as opposed to going in there [on Saturday], and we have no idea who or what you’re getting and what it’s gonna cost you.”
Update: Here’s a little more from the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
Yzerman stated after Thursday’s NHL Entry Draft that he’d like to add forwards with goal-scoring ability, a right-shooting defenseman and a backup goaltender.
“I’d like to add some offense, but there’s no guarantees I can do anything,” Yzerman said. “We’ll fill some spots. Who exactly? I’m not sure, or for how long or how much. That’s the nature of free agency. You know our roster, the guys we’ve traded (Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana). We’ll try to do that in some form or another.”
If not entirely through free agency, Yzerman could still explore the trade market, which could heat up again later in the summer.
The Wings also have $30 million of cap space to spend, although Yzerman isn’t going to use that money simply to use it.
“We’re positioned reasonably well to have the ability with cap space, with draft picks (two first-rounders in 2024), if we want to go at it through trade or if we want to go through free agency. There are options there,” Yzerman said. “But I’m not going to just spend the money because I have it and we’re not going to trade the picks because we have them. We’ll try to make good decisions regardless of our cap space or our depth.”
This might be the worst free agency class since I can remember. I’m just hoping the rumors about Killorn are not true. I’d rather we sign someone like Tarasenko (even with his injury history) or Ryan O’Reilly.