We all know that Patrick Kane’s decision as to which team he plans on signing with as an unrestricted free agent will have ramifications throughout Detroit’s roster.
It’s entirely possible that the Wings will look to add some sort of nominal replacement play-maker in addition to the signing of Viktor Arvidsson; it’s entirely possible that Kane’s departure would affect Alex DeBrincat’s desire to re-sign with his hometown team; and there is no doubt in my mind that Kane and Dylan Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, are talking about rectifying both players’ future employment situations over the course of one fell swoop…
Anyway, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith notes this morning, there are a lot of moving parts here:
A week into free agency, the 37 year-old has remained mum on where he intends to sign, despite post-season comments indicating he was leaning towards staying put. Elliotte Friedman stated that he wasn’t sure he expected the veteran winger to return to Detroit. MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings have a standing offer on the table for Kane, however he is still as of yet to sign it.
With Kane potentially on the way out the door the Red Wings future looks even more uncertain with the looming Dylan Larkin trade request.
What bothers me about this whole situation is simple: there have been, “I heard from a guy that…” rumors galore about Kane signing in Buffalo, Toronto, or even back in Chicago, but nobody’s been able to substantiate them. It’s mostly speculation at this point.
As Smith notes, the Wings would take a step back without Kane, at least if they don’t try to replace his production in a meaningful manner…
To state the obvious for the Red Wings, losing Kane would be bad. Out walks 57 points (16 goals, 41 assist) and one of the smartest minds on-ice in hockey. In a down year playing under 70 games, Kane still finished top 5 on the team in goals and overall points.
Kane was second on the team in 5v5 pp/60min. That was despite averaging less than 14 minutes a night on ice. The Red Wings have been starved for 5v5 scoring for years.
Without Kane, (and Larkin) the Red Wings are missing 40+ goals that they had, or would expect to have in the coming season. That doesn’t bode well for a very deep Atlantic division that saw the Buffalo Sabres make a deep playoff run AND pick no. 4 overall this year and the Florida Panthers reuniting the Bash Brothers.
And then there’s the DeBrincat drama:
With DeBrincat in the final year of his contract, the Red Wings front office is also having to manage the reality of whether they can afford to re-sign him to a contract worth his value. Last season, he became the first player since Marion Hossa to score 80+ points and 40+ goals in a Red Wings sweater. Without an extension, DeBrincat’s future, and the Red Wings’, is completely up in the air.
There has been word that some teams are poking around on DeBrincat. As a perennial 70+ point forward, and having broken the 40 goal mark for the second time in his career last year, DeBrincat would demand incredible value on the trade market. That’s especially with another year before his cap hit likely hits the double digit millions.
At that point, Larkin and DeBrincat for futures might be the past path forward Hockeytown. That would likely also means a new voice in the front office.
I’m just not buying this part of the equation. I don’t see the Red Wings having any problem signing DeBrincat to a contract worthy of a 40-goal-scorer.
I also don’t believe that the Red Wings would let him walk for “futures” alone, should his rights being traded before July 1st of next season…
And it’s just foolhardy to suggest that Steve Yzerman would lose his job over ANYONE coming or going from Detroit’s roster. We all know by now that Yzerman serves at the pleasure of Mrs. Ilitch and Christopher Ilitch, and if they haven’t fired him by now, they’re not going to fire him unless it’s Yzerman who chooses to walk away. He’s staying until he’s done. Period.
