‘In a tough spot’

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted a list of “What’s Left to Do” for every one of the NHL’s 32 teams over the balance of the offseason, and he offers the following regarding the Red Wings’ remaining offseason needs:

DETROIT RED WINGS

Notable acquisitions: John Gibson, Mason Appleton, James van Riemsdyk, Jacob Bernard-Docker
Notable departures: Petr Mrazek, Craig Smith, Alex Lyon, Jeff Petry, Vladimir Tarasenko
Cap space remaining: $12.086 million

From the 32 Thoughts Podcast: “The thing about Yzerman is he believes in himself. Even if nobody else believes in what he’s doing he thinks he’s doing the right thing, and that is drafting and developing their guys. So unless he can hit a big home run, and this year would have been a guy like Ehlers, he’s not going to do that anymore with four- and five-year terms. Yzerman is betting his reputation on when all these kids we’ve drafted and developed are ready, they’re going to be players.”

What the GM has said: “We’ve got 12 (forwards) signed right now, our debate is do we sign another one to have that 13th forward, or do we leave that spot open and see if something comes up over the summer, or leave it open and let (a prospect) earn that spot?” – Steve Yzerman.

What to watch for this summer: It seems the Wings wanted to be in on a lot of the bigger players who were in line to hit the free-agent market, but those hopes were dashed when the vast majority re-signed with the teams they were with. The Wings wanted to make a pitch to Nikolaj Ehlers who did make it to market, but he didn’t entertain a move to Michigan. And so Yzerman’s team is in a tough spot after they fell back in the standings in 2024-25. The build-up isn’t so direct and they’re relying on recent drafts paying off some time in the near future. Every year now Yzerman’s plan is being put under the microscope and in some corners, doubt is seeping in that it will work out. Right now, Yzerman’s biggest move was to acquire another goalie — after his big trade deadline move was to acquire a netminder.

Continued; one way or another, the Red Wings need to add another top-six forward and/or a top-four defenseman, hopefully via trade. Whether they do so this summer is up for debate.