According to Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell, the Red Wings’ free agent signing of Erik Gustafsson was in fact a wise move made by Steve Yzerman and company:
Erik Gustafsson, Detroit Red Wings: 2 years, $2 million AAV
I didn’t give enough love for Erik Gustafsson‘s contract last season. The New York Rangers got him at just $825,000 despite him showing signs of his offensive game returning in 2022-23, and they were rewarded for the gamble. Not only did Gustafsson play well in a depth role for the money he was paid, he also stepped up on their top power play when Adam Fox was hurt and barely looked out of place among the talent that they had on that unit.
That’s why I like this deal for the Red Wings, even though it comes at a slightly higher price tag. With Jake Walman and Shayne Gostisbehere out of the picture, Detroit needed some more offense from the blueline and Gustafsson will happily provide that. Whether he ends up on their second power play unit or on their top unit (if Derek Lalonde wants to continue to give Moritz Seider no easy minutes), Gustafsson should put up the points worthy of at least being worth the $2 million he’s getting paid each season. Detroit may not have won the offseason as a whole with some of the weird decisions they made, but at the very least, this is a nice win for them.
Continued; I wouldn’t call all the Red Wings’ offseason moves “weird,” but some were definitely puzzling.
And here’s hoping that Gustafsson is indeed a Shayne Gostisbehere that’s better defensively.
