The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn offers a list of NHL teams’ “contract efficiencies” this morning, and given that the Red Wings finished 24th overall a season ago, the Wings’ status as 13th overall feels like a relief.
Luszczyszyn makes sure to suggest that the players’ present contract values are what matters–what happened in the past in terms of player performance does not count to him–so this is a ranking of 32 teams’ present contract values.
13. Detroit Red Wings
Last season: 24th
Copyright Dom Luszczyszyn and The Athletic
Things are finally starting to trend in the right direction for Detroit and that’s in large part thanks to the team locking up Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider long-term last year. While both entered each deal with some question marks, they proved themselves worthy of future franchise status, offering immense future value. Raymond is on one of the league’s best contracts and Seider’s deal has potential to be just as strong. I’d imagine both Marco Kasper and Simon Edvinsson will only add to this in the future.
As for Detroit’s problem contracts, many of them are thankfully ending soon. Ben Chiarot and Justin Holl only have one year left, while Andrew Copp only has two. The rest are manageable, and it’s what has Detroit’s future looking brighter.
Continued (paywall); here’s hoping that the Red Wings’ management avoids “problem contracts” in the present and future…
Though I’m going to admit that I don’t understand why DeBrincat, Johansson or Gibson’s contracts have “negative values.”
