Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell has been ranking the respective salary cap situations of the NHL’s 32 teams over the last couple of weeks, and the Red Wings receive a surprisingly high ranking–though it’s a nuanced one, with some criticism interspersed inside the 8th overall spot:
8. Detroit Red Wings
Contract Rating: 23rd
Contracts with No-Trade/No-Move Clauses: t-12th
Dead Cap Space: 22nd
Quality of Core: 2nd
Cap Space to Skill Differential: 5thIf there’s one team that sticks out like a sore thumb on this list, it’s the Red Wings. After all, they aren’t even close to being a consistent playoff contender, never mind a Cup contender. Considering all the criticism Steve Yzerman has rightfully gotten for his moves lately, it’s surprising to see Detroit up this high.
But there are two factors that are a driving force for this ranking. First, the three players that are currently locked up long term for the Red Wings are also their three best players: Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Also, the Wings fare well because contracts like Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher and Andrew Copp are no longer in that range like they used to be, but that’s about as good as it gets as far as securing a core long term.
And then there’s their cap space to skill differential. The Red Wings aren’t a great team (and my model agrees, ranking them 21st right now), but they also aren’t spending like a top team either. With nearly $12 million in cap space, they have the sixth-most in the league right now, which means that hopefully when they do spend, it will improve the roster as well.
That said, Yzerman isn’t reliable for spending wisely, and it’s created the team’s biggest weakness: their contract rating. Outside of getting market value for their main core and cheap deals with some of their younger players (like Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper and Elmer Soderblom) and a few veterans (like Erik Gustavsson, Cam Talbot and James van Riemsdyk), the Red Wings just aren’t getting good value on their players. Mason Appleton, Chiarot, Compher, Copp, Travis Hamonic, Patrick Kane, even John Gibson are the biggest names for Detroit whose contracts don’t rate well. It just feels like they could be doing a bit better spending in that regard, and maybe that would put them in consistent playoff contention.
Continued; more aggressive trading + better pro scouting + continued prospect development = a better way. At least probably.
I just don’t get all of this hate on Yzerman. Who cares if you have 12 or 20 million. Players deserving of those 10+ million deals do not want to sign here. They don’t want to play for Detroit. Yzerman is doing best he can from a position of weakness. Questionable FA signings, yep, but they where the ones that WOULD sign. Going to be a few more years before Detroit becomes a UFA destination. We have shitty income and state taxes and while there are great places to live, they are an hour outside Detroit