Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke bluntly regarding his team’s salary cap situation as it applies to holding onto the team’s unrestricted free agents-to-be during a Saturday afternoon media availability, and the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood took note of Yzerman’s remarks…
“We’re just not gonna have enough money to bring everybody back,” Yzerman told reporters. “It’s not the way it’s gonna work. And we’d love to bring everybody back but we’re not bringing everybody back, and we’re trying to make these deals with all these guys that allow us to bring them all back. But I’m not sure we’ll be able to do that.”
What Yzerman said about potential departures isn’t shocking to anyone who’s opened up the Red Wings’ CapFriendly page (at least, as long as they can). The Red Wings have roughly $32.7 million in cap space to work with, but they have a number of big contracts to sign including those of Kane, Gostisbehere, David Perron and restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. And while the RFAs are all but guaranteed to return, it’s those UFAs who Yzerman is working so hard to bring back.
Yzerman knows the math doesn’t add up to run his roster back, even after Detroit made it so close to a playoff spot last season. He’s going to have to make tough decisions on who stays and who goes.
“It’s not just do we like the player, it’s do we like them at the dollar amount,” Yzerman said. “Whoever it is, if we like them at X dollars and we can fit it in, we’ll try to do that.”
As did the Free Press’s Helene St. James…
Yzerman said, “We’d love to get Patrick Kane signed. That’s our first priority. We’re trying to do deals with all these guys that allow us to almost bring them all back, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to do that.”
Kane, 35, recorded 47 points in 50 games and proved that even in the twilight of his career and coming off invasive hip surgery last summer, he’s still a superstar. Gostisbehere, 31, had 56 points in 81 games and led the Wings with 29 power play points. It’s that latter number especially that matters: Man advantages are crucial to winning, and the Wings don’t have anyone who can produce those numbers if Gostisbehere walks.
Perron, 36, had 47 points in 76 games. He’s prone to slow-down penalties because he has slowed down with age, but he had five points the last three games of the season and he brings tremendous leadership. He’s probably the most vocal Wing in the locker room.
Perron would cost less than the others — think in the neighborhood of $2 million. The issue with Kane may be less money than term: The Wings prefer a one-year deal, given his age. Maybe they give him two if the money comes down, but he isn’t likely to take less than $5 million a year. Gostisbehere is coming off a one-year, $4.125 million deal and while his value takes a hit because of his defensive struggles, he does, again, added needed offense to a lineup.
“Will continue to talk to our own guys here, haven’t given up on that yet, and when we get home we’ll regroup,” Yzerman said. “We’re confident we’ll fill our roster out one way or the other.”
And you’ll take the Athletic’s Max Bultman at his word here:
Yzerman said Saturday the team still would love to get Patrick Kane signed. “That’s our first priority,” he said, though it should be noted the context there was in direct response to a question about Kane and the top-six winger need if he were to depart.
But as for what happens if Kane doesn’t sign, how big of a priority would that be to sign a heavy-hitter there?
“I would say on wingers, I don’t anticipate us — I mean, never really know — but we’ve got Alex DeBrincat, what I’d consider a sizeable commitment to Alex as far as salary,” Yzerman said. “We’re hoping to do something long-term with Lucas, and if we can’t, we’ll do something short-term with him. But our first priority is long-term, so we’re going to have a lot of money tied up in two wingers. Can we go long-term and a lot of money on another winger? It’s something to consider, depends on who it is. Depends on a lot of things.
“I guess go by every player: It’s not just do we like the player, (it’s) do we like him at the dollar amount? So, whoever it is, if we like him at X dollars and we can fit it in, we’ll try to do that.”
What to make of that answer is probably open for interpretation, as most Yzerman answers are, but top-six wing will be one of my biggest positions to watch for Detroit when free agency opens on Monday.
If you have access to The Athletic, Max’s 10-point notebook is pretty dang close to a must-read.
