I wouldn’t take him…he’s worn down too much over the past couple of seasons, and he looked tired during the playoffs:
Tyler Johnson on waivers today seemed to catch some off-guard today. It’s left many wondering if #GoBolts had something in place for a team to claim Johnson (#RedWings?). We’ll see tomorrow at 12 noon ET.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 10, 2020
From the Red Wings comes a 14-minute clip of Steve Yzerman’s remarks regarding the first day of free agency:
#RedWings Yzerman on media call said they still have needs (goalie, defense) but “if we’re not able to do that now, we’ll wait and see what opportunities come up over the course of the remainder of the off-season.”— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 10, 2020
Per the Associated Press:
Defenseman Torey Krug, one of the top prizes in this year’s free-agent class, has agreed to a seven-year contract worth $45.5 million with the St. Louis Blues, the team announced Friday night.
A blue-line staple for the Bruins, Krug, 29, has spent his entire NHL career with Boston, playing in 523 games. A quarterback of the power play, he has 67 career goals and 337 points.
Now that it’s over, let’s be honest, fellow Wings fans:
Krug wanted to win and wanted to make a mint. The Wings couldn’t offer him both aspects of his free agency desires, so let him go.
Sometimes we don’t get all the guys we want to get.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2020
MLive’s Ansar Khan surmises that the Red Wings will not only experience another rebuilding season, but will also sell off multiple players in order to accumulate draft picks at the trade deadline:
Yzerman’s strategy Friday when NHL free agency opened was clear: Sign veteran players on inexpensive one-year contracts, providing the team flexibility to move them at the trade deadline for draft picks.
The Red Wings filled some roster holes by signing right wing Bobby Ryan ($1 million) and defenseman Jon Merrill ($950,000) to one-year deals.
…
If things go well, perhaps the Red Wings will extend Ryan or Merrill or even both. But for now, they join a lengthy list of players in the final year of their contracts who the Red Wings can flip at the deadline. That list includes defenseman Marc Staal, acquired last month from the New York Rangers along with a second-round pick, and center/right wing Sam Gagner, who was re-signed for $850,000.
Forwards Darren Helm, Luke Glendening and Valtteri Filppula; defenseman Patrik Nemeth and goaltender Jonathan Bernier also are entering the final year of their contracts and could be moved for picks.
Not all of these players would draw interest, and Yzerman wouldn’t completely gut his roster, needing some players to finish a season that will tentatively start on Jan. 1.
97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield notes that new Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan decided to sign with the Wings for some very specific reasons:
Bobby Ryan, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit on Friday, said that after he heard from Steve Yzerman in free agency, he had no desire to hear from anyone else.
His mind was already made up.
“While I did still have some other meetings and calls and back-and-forth’s with my agents, my heart just wasn’t in it,” Ryan said on a Zoom call with local media. “Because I had spoken to Steve first, and it was a 45-minute call that just left me with the impression that it was the right fit, without knowing what else was out there. It didn’t feel like it was going to matter. I knew where I wanted to be based on (our) conversation.
“The passion that comes through for the Red Wings, through him, is contagious. I left and walked out of the room and told my wife, ‘I think we’re signing in Detroit.’ I would go through the process like I’m supposed to with everything else, but after the phone call I didn’t feel like I needed to hear anything else from anybody.”
Continued with similar remarks from Dylan Larkin….
? pic.twitter.com/mXBekOGjGz— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020
Bobby Ryan talked with Steve Yzerman for 45 minutes, left the room and told his wife they were going to Detroit.
“The passion that comes through for the Red Wings, through him, is contagious,” he said. pic.twitter.com/BmNEcXHSS2— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 9, 2020
FYI:
UPDATE: The #RedWings today agreed to terms with center Kyle Criscuolo and goaltender Kevin Boyle on one-year contracts. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/qHMpkiE8au— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020
UPDATE: The #RedWings today agreed to terms with right wing Riley Barber on a two-year contract. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/XuRPmHheSK— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020
Criscuolo is 28 and he once played for the Grand Rapids Griffins; Boyle is also 28 and played for San Diego last year; Barber is 26 and played for the Canadiens and Penguins’ AHL teams last year.
Continue reading Depth signings: Wings bring back Kyle Criscuolo, sign goaltender Kevin Boyle, forward Riley BarberThe Red Wings just posted Jon Merrill’s Zoom call with the Wings’ beat writers…
Per the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan…
Near as I can tell, #RedWings will have staggering 10 UFA’s next summer (Bernier, Biega, Merrill, Nemeth, Staal, Gagner, Ryan, Glendening, Filppula, Helm). Ummmm, tremendous opportunity to reshape roster— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) October 9, 2020
And MLive’s Ansar Khan:
#RedWings seeking right-shot defenseman, based on what Yzerman said a few days ago. https://t.co/bcU4M08W6t— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 9, 2020
New Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan spoke with TSN 1200 in Ottawa on Friday, and Ryan was blunt and honest about his rationale for signing with the Red Wings at 33–to rediscover his game–he stated that he’s been working with a skating coach and a strength and conditioning coach in Nashville, his offseason home, as well as engaging in therapy and classes, and he suggested that his deal with the Red Wings, which came together last night, was an easy one to agree to as the Wings’ GM, coach and strength and conditioning coach all spoke passionately about the team…
As Yzerman also did regarding the possibility that Ryan may be moved at the deadline for an asset. No bullshit from the Wings = why Ryan is here to reestablish himself.