Month: June 2025

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the Red Wings’ probable free agency targets this morning, and his “needle-movers” are star players, but Bultman’s list does include role players who might make a difference, as well as potential trade candidates:

Aaron Ekblad, RHD, Florida Panthers: When you factor both Detroit’s needs and the potential to land one of the players in this top group, Ekblad comes out on top. He’s a clear top-four defenseman coming off a strong playoff run for the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, and happens to be from just across the river in Windsor, Ontario. There are fair questions on how he will age on the back half of a long-term deal, as a big body who has logged a ton of minutes and plays with an edge. But he remains highly effective, can make an impact at both ends of the ice and would immediately elevate the blue line. That’s a lot to like.

Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Winnipeg Jets: Ehlers doesn’t have Brad Marchand’s hard edge, but he brings a ton of speed and offense to a top six. Crucially, he can produce at five-on-five, which matters for a team that can be pretty power-play dependent for its offense. He’d be another small winger without much edge, which could be an issue for a Red Wings team that wants to be harder to play against, and perhaps makes him less likely. But there’s no doubting his talent.

Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks: Boeser is a proven goal scorer with some size, which is immediately interesting. His 40-goal season in 2023-24 is more of an outlier, with 23-29 goals more like his baseline, but his career per-game numbers would translate to 30 goals over a full season, which qualifies as needle-moving. He also has Midwest roots, though it’s worth noting his hometown Minnesota Wild also has cap space to work with.

Continued (paywall); I don’t expect the Wings to add any of the above-named players, but I certainly hope that they can add at least one of them.

Update: The Athletic asked its NHL beat writers what the NHL’s 32 teams should prioritize in free agency, and Bultman weighed in there as well:

Continue reading The top of the UFA wish list

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton discuss their free agency recommendations for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, including the Red Wings:

What they should do: The Red Wings pulled off a blockbuster during draft weekend, landing John Gibson from Anaheim in exchange for Petr Mrazek and a pair of picks. That was a needed upgrade for Detroit in net, and allows Gibson to play with another solid veteran in Cam Talbot. That’s a strong start to the offseason for GM Steve Yzerman.

He’ll give his group a chance to get back into the postseason picture by continuing to tweak. Re-signing Kane is an easy boost — he has played well at 5-on-5 and special teams, and has a veteran poise.

It’s the Red Wings’ defense that’s in need of a true upgrade. Detroit gave up the 12th-most goals last season, and the collection of veterans the Red Wings relied on for their second and third pairings weren’t cutting it. There are UFA options available such as Vladislav Gavrikov who might help, or Yzerman could swing a deal for someone such as RFA K’Andre Miller. Regardless of where Yzerman looks, it’s important he finds a defenseman (or two) who can take some pressure off Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson.

Continued; the Wings could use another top-six scorer and a forward with “bite,” too, but defense is the priority…

The Red Wings posted a “short” in which they follow Carter Bear through his draft process this past Friday in Los Angeles:

MLive’s Ansar Khan examines several of the Red Wings’ free agent targets ahead of the opening of the unrestricted free agency period, which begins on Tuesday at 12 PM EDT.

Khan emphasizes the Red Wings’ defensive targets, as he believes Detroit needs to shore up its blueline, first and foremost:

Aaron Ekblad, 29, Florida: The Panthers re-signed center Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and have roughly $11 million in cap space with 17 players signed. That won’t be enough to retain their two remaining high-end free agents, Ekblad and Brad Marchand. The Panthers might have anticipated losing Ekblad, the top overall pick in 2014 who’s spent his entire career in Florida, with their trade-deadline acquisition of Seth Jones. Ekblad (6-4, 220) would bring some offensive ability and physicality to the Red Wings’ blue line. As a right-shooter, he’d probably be paired with the lefty Edvinsson. Ekblad is a Windsor native who grew up a Red Wings fan, which might not help but certainly doesn’t hurt. He is coming off an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $7.5 million.

Vladislav Gavrikov, 29, Los Angeles: Kings GM Ken Holland said Saturday on the NHL Network that he’s not close to a deal with Gavrikov, a big, left-shooting defender (6-3, 220) who is coming off a 30-point, plus-26 season and a contract with an AAV of $5.875 million). He would probably replace Chiarot on the top pairing with Seider. The New York Rangers are reportedly interested in him.

Continued (paywall); at this point, the 2025 free agent class is so thin that I wonder whether the Wings will be able to do more than address one particular roster concern during free agency.

The Wings may be able to bolster their blueline or their forward corps, given how many teams are competing for a small number of near-elite players. Most of the teams that are looking have some salary cap space, too, so the prices for the top free agents are going to be high as well.

As Wings GM Steve Yzerman stated this past weekend, it’s entirely possible that the Wings may not sign any free agents, and consider making a post-free agency trade instead.

It would surprise me if the Red Wings re-signed any of Alex Lyon, Craig Smith, Tyler Motte or Jeff Petry, the team’s UFA’s-to-be, and while it’s going to be relatively easy for the Wings to spend given their PuckPedia-estimated $18.41 million of salary cap space, Detroit has to re-sign RFA’s Jonatan Berggren, Albert Johansson and Elmer Soderblom as well.

My best guess at this point is that the Wings sign a second-tier free agent defenseman, that they consider whether to sign a top-six forward, and that the team may be more serious about making a post-free agency trade than any of us assume.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James examines the Red Wings’ 5 unrestricted free agents-to-be and 3 restricted free agents ahead of the start of free agency:

F Patrick Kane, UFA

Kane has said he wants to come back. (The biggest fan of his doing so: His four-year-old son, also named Patrick.) General manager Steve Yzerman also wants Kane back. Kane, 36, has topped 20 goals in each in each of his first two stints with the team, and was their leading scorer after the 4 Nations Face-Off break this past season, with 28 points in 27 games. He had a $4 million cap hit last season, on a bonus-laden contract.

G Alex Lyon, UFA

Lyon, 32, was a career minor-leaguer with spots of NHL success when he signed for two years at $900,000 per season with the Wings two years ago. He emerged as their starter in his first season, but had a rougher time showing consistency in 2024-25. Yzerman has said there’s interest, as the Wings still want a third, proven NHL guy to complement newcomer John Gibson and Cam Talbot, but Lyon may well find more lucrative offers exploring free agency.

D Albert Johansson, RFA

Johansson, 24, was a bit player under Lalonde. Then McLellan came in at Christmas, and in early January, Petry suffered an injury, and voila, as McLellan put it, “we found Albert.” Johansson had nine points in 61 games overall; eight of the points came in the 44 games under McLellan. He’ll get a raise from the $775,000 he signed for last summer, when he was coming off his entry-level contract.

Continued; Craig Smith, Tyler Motte and Jeff Petry are the Red Wings’ other unrestricted free agents, and Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom are the Wings’ other restricted free agents.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article about Eddie Genborg, the Red Wings’ second-round pick at this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Los Angeles. As Duff notes, Genborg plays a physical game and isn’t afraid to mix things up:

“I think he’s a big, strong kid,” [Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris] Draper said of the left-shot right-winger they selected 44th overall. “He can really skate. He’s physical on the forecheck, a guy that is really tough to play against. And, we just really liked the intensity that he’s able to bring.”

Genborg projects as a bottom-six checker with some offensive upside. Watch footage of Genborg in action and you’ll quickly come to like the way he plays the game. He’ll go into the dirty areas to create a scoring chance. He works the boards with a tenacious ferocity, always hunting the puck.

“I would probably say that I’m a very physical player,” Genborg acknowledged. “I really like to play physical and, yeah, pretty good skater and, yeah, love to compete on the ice.”

He came by his passion for physical play as a natural progression.

“I would say maybe around two years ago, I just found that I have a pretty big body and if I’m being good at playing physical, it can take me pretty long,” the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Genborg said. “So just started from there, I would say.”

Continued; Genborg is something of a throwback player, and it’s entirely possible that he may develop into a Tomas Holmstrom-type forward.

NHL.com’s William Douglas posted an article discussing the minority representation at this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Los Angeles, and Red Wings prospect Carter Bear, who’s part of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, is proud of his heritage:

Carter Bear, LW, Detroit Red Wings, first round (No. 13)

A left wing for Everett of the Western Hockey League, Bear said he was humbled when he learned about a draft watch party in Peguis First Nation in Manitoba on Friday, cheering his selection. The Southern Chiefs Organization congratulated him on Instagram, calling his selection “a historic and proud moment for Carter, his family, and his Nation, and a testament to the hard work, talent, and dedication he has shown throughout his hockey journey.”

“That shows how proud they are,” Bear said. “I’m proud of where I’m from — my community and my Indigenous background.”

Bear (6-foot, 179) tied for seventh in the WHL with 40 goals in 56 games, and he also led Everett with 82 points and 14 power-play goals despite sustaining a partially torn Achilles tendon on March 9. The 18-year-old from Winnipeg is on track to be fully cleared by September.

“We think we’re getting a very intelligent hockey player who is extremely competitive at the junior hockey level,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “He really can score, and we think all of his game translates to the NHL as well. I think our fan base will really take to him.”

Continued; as noted on Friday night, Bear’s First Nations community had a watch party to witness Bear being drafted by the Red Wings, as reported by the Winnipeg Free Press’s Mike McIntyre:

The party was in full swing at the Peguis Multiplex, where community members gathered to watch one of their own under the bright lights in Hollywood.

“Everyone here knew about this evening and are super excited for him and proud of his accomplishment,” said Chief Stan Bird.

“Considering everything our community has gone through, and what we’re still continuing to experience in terms of addictions and other negative things, I think this is a really positive event for our community. He’s someone our young people look up to. It shows what hard work brings. It sets a really good example for our young people.”

The Detroit Red Wings released the roster for their 2025 Summer Development Camp this afternoon, and it’s a smaller roster than usual, consisting of far more drafted and signed prospects than usual.

The Red Wings’ summer development camp roster tends to consist of about 40 prospects, and this year, there are only 16 forwards, 9 defensemen and 6 goaltenders, for a total of 31 players attending the camp, which will be held from Monday to Thursday at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center.

Defensemen Viking Gustavsson Nyberg, Jake Livanavage and goaltender Connor Hasley are the only free agent invites, which is way, way down from the usual 10-15 free agent invitees, though it should be noted that Gustavsson Nyberg, Livanavage and Hasley are all undrafted NCAA players.

Here’s a not-so-brief summary of the 31 attendees:

Continue reading Getting to know the Red Wings’ roster for the 2025 Summer Development Camp

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan wraps up his coverage of the 2025 NHL Draft by noting what Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper had to say about the team’s draft philosophy:

After acquiring [goaltender John] Gibson, Yzerman and his scouting staff completed the draft Saturday. The Wings plucked forward Carter Bear in Friday’s first-round and added seven players Saturday.

“We are able to address some needs as far as depth in the prospect pool,” Yzerman said. “We’ll try to do our best and to be patient and develop them and help them along the way to become professional players and hopefully play for the Red Wings.”

Bear and second-round selection Eddie Genborg are similar players. Both enjoy the physical part of the game, enjoy getting to the hard areas of the ice, and play the type of game Kris Draper, the Wings’ director of amateur scouting, liked watching in the playoffs.

“The one thing that really sticks out is how hard it is to play, the compete,” said Draper of playoff hockey. “You look at the teams that were successful and able to go on a run, they had guys that could skate, guys that were hard to play against, responsible hockey players.”

…

The Wings host their annual development camp beginning Monday. It’s the first step toward acclimating them to the Wings’ organization.

“We know we have to be patient,” Draper said. “We want these young players to be chomping at the bit, doing everything they can to make a push for the Detroit Red Wings.”

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman stated on Friday that he doesn’t plan on buying out anyone on the roster, but just in case, here’s a note about the buyout process from PuckPedia:

Today was last day to put a player on buyout waivers to buy them out during the 1st window. A player with a No Move Clause doesn't need buyout waivers, so they can still be bought out by tomorrow's 5pm buyout deadline.

The 2nd buyout window opens if a team has a player file for…

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) June 29, 2025