Of Red Wings-related note this Canada Day morning:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses the Red Wings’ free agency needs ahead of the start of the unrestricted free agent period today at 12 PM EDT:
“We have a list this year, yeah,” [GM Steve Yzerman] said Thursday after wrapping up the second day of the NHL draft. Free agency begins Saturday at noon, and among priorities for the Wings are a scorer and a goaltender. “I’d like to add some offense,” Yzerman said, “but there’s no guarantee I can do anything. 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.”
Last year the Wings used the free agent market to add forwards Andrew Copp, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik and defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä.
Ville Husso was acquired via a trade, and Yzerman could go that route again if he doesn’t get what the Wings need on the market. Priority No. 1 is someone to serve with Husso, which Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg both struggled to do. (Both are pending unrestricted free agents.)
…
Then there is the issue of scoring. Yzerman unloaded his top two goal scorers at the trade deadline in Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana. Bertuzzi is headed for the market after the Boston Bruins were unable to re-sign a player for whom they gave up a conditional first-round pick in the 2024 draft (top-10 protected) and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. Yzerman made the trade because there was no common ground in exploratory contract talks with the Bertuzzi’s agent.
St. James continues (no paywall);
2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes that yesterday was a very important day for the Red Wings, who acquired four-time Stanley Cup champion Kris Draper from the Winnipeg Jets for “future considerations”:
Continue reading Morning news: On free agency needs, the Draper trade and an ‘unnumbered thought’
