The Athletic offers free agency grades for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and, as you might expect, the Red Wings earn a middling mark:
The Red Wings got deeper, addressed their needs and were able to do so in most cases without extending significant term, so that’s all well and good. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they still haven’t picked up a big-time scorer. Maybe it’s not fair to dock their free agency grade for that, as any such scorer would likely be acquired via trade — the free agent options weren’t all that exciting — but it’s just hard to get especially excited about their moves. The B- reflects a clear effort to improve, and they’ve had some success in doing so, but they’re still lacking that important missing piece. — Max Bultman
Continued (paywall);
The same is true for the Wings’ goaltending moves, per Harman Dayal and Jesse Granger:
Alex Lyon | Fit grade: B- | Contract grade: B
Contract: $900,000 x two years: This feels like déjà vu for the Red Wings, who have brought in a breakout goalie in each of the last three offseasons.
In 2021 it was Nedeljkovic, who Detroit traded a third-round pick for following his excellent rookie season in Carolina. That move didn’t work and in 2022 Detroit traded another third-round pick for Ville Husso, who was just coming off his first impressive season in the NHL in St. Louis. And now here we are, with Detroit signing Alex Lyon after he finally broke through in the NHL at age 30 last year in Florida. Lyon will battle with James Reimer for the backup spot.
The good news is Detroit didn’t have to trade for Lyon, and the deal carries almost no risk with a cap hit of only $900,000. If Lyon can maintain some semblance of the level he showed last year it will be a steal of a deal. If not, there’s really no harm. The only real harm in this deal is if it means Detroit can’t take some of the workload pressure off Husso.
…
James Reimer | Fit grade: C- | Contract grade: C-
Contract: $1.5 million x one year
Out of 107 goalies who played in the NHL last season, James Reimer ranked 99th in goals saved above expected (-11.3) according to MoneyPuck. One of the few who ranked below Reimer was Husso (-14.7), and they are now the top-two netminders in Detroit.
Reimer did have a solid season in 2021-22, so Steve Yzerman is clearly hoping last year was an outlier. Detroit needs one of Reimer or Lyon to pop because Husso started last season well but then fell apart as the workload became too heavy — he needs a strong tandem partner.
