ESPN’s Chris Peters dissects the Red Wings’ signing of Bobby Ryan:

Bobby Ryan, LW, Detroit Red Wings

Terms: 1 year, $1 million

Where does he fit? The Red Wings are still in the rebuilding process, and Ryan works as a stop-gap forward to provide some veteran scoring help. He’ll also probably have a chance to play bigger minutes with the Red Wings than he would have anywhere else, likely in a middle-six role.

The Masterton Award winner for 2019-20, Ryan left the Senators in November to check himself into rehab to seek help for substance abuse. He returned to the team in February, scoring four goals and recording 22 shots on goal over the eight games prior to the league being shut down. He looked as good as he had in the last few seasons but was an easy buyout candidate for the Sens with two years remaining on his previous contract at a $7.25 million cap hit. Now he’ll have a chance at a fresh start.

Does it make sense? Ryan’s options to play a substantial role were limited. The Red Wings can provide some ice time and an opportunity to rejuvenate his career with a low-pressure, low-money deal. He’s not going to be the 30-goal scorer he was earlier in his career, but he does have nine seasons of 20 or more tallies. Without the weight of his albatross contract anymore, perhaps Ryan can open things up a little more with a young team that struggled mightily last season.

Grade: B-. For the Red Wings, it buys time to filter in their younger players over the next season-plus. It’s also a low-risk add of a player with a history of scoring in the NHL. Detroit desperately needed scorers, so why not take a chance on Ryan? Also, if he finds his scoring touch again, he would be an easily tradeable asset to a contender. — Peters

Update: The Hockey News’s Matt Larkin weighed in on both of the Wings’ signings:

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with several hockey experts regarding the state of the Red Wings’ rebuilding effort, and they suggested that the rebuild is still very much “under construction“:

“For sure I still think they’re going to get caved in next season,” said Ryan Kennedy, associate senior writer and draft prospect expert at The Hockey News. “And that’s fine. You’re getting a top-10 pick and you give kids the ice time and experience, and tell them, ‘This is where we are, and this is where you need to be.’ It’s going to be a transitional year.”

What everyone has liked about Yzerman’s first two drafts as Wings’ general manager is the sheer quantity of picks he’s acquired and the type of players he’s been drafting.

The Wings drafted 12 players in this week’s Entry Draft. A persistent theme was skilled, smart hockey players who have a high ceiling of potential.

“You’re getting a lot of skill, smart kids, who can handle the puck,” Kennedy said. “That’s a pretty fair assessment.”

E.J. Hradek, senior reporter at NHL Network, liked Yzerman’s strategy in this draft.

“You have to hope your scouting staff is good and having all those picks in a good draft is good, and by all accounts, this was a pretty good draft,” Hradek said.

Continued

FYI:

D Jon Merrill is going to #RedWings, 1 year x $925,000— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 9, 2020

DET picks up a defenseman certainly familiar with Michigan. Played youth hockey here and then @USAHockeyNTDP and @umichhockey. #RedWings https://t.co/OIN8RKZzyy— Stefan Kubus (@StefanKubus) October 9, 2020

Michigan Man goes home. https://t.co/mXipZ13XuI pic.twitter.com/TfQkf1xpYX— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) October 9, 2020

Former University of Michigan defenseman coming back to the area https://t.co/bY3vTTRwiF— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 9, 2020

Signed to Standard Contract
Jon Merrill (LD) | DET#LGRWhttps://t.co/FuYI1dbJVp— CapFriendly Transactions (@CF_Transactions) October 9, 2020

The Detroit Red Wings have signed defenceman Jon Merrill to a one-year, $925,000 contract. pic.twitter.com/7tBKvogjum— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) October 9, 2020

And this extremely sweet video is worth another watch now, too https://t.co/XmCNh7AI68— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 9, 2020

HSJ:

Here we go. Bobby Ryan won the Masterton Trophy this past year, and he’s 33.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today agreed to terms with right wing Bobby Ryan on a one-year contract. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/B7NhLzMP0l— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020

Nothing is done until it’s done but the expectation is winger Bobby Ryan will sign a one year deal in Detroit when the paper work is completed. #Sens #NHLFreeAgency— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 9, 2020

This will be a one-year deal worth $1 million for Bobby Ryan and Red Wings. https://t.co/5kBJHRJGQE— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) October 9, 2020

One-year deal worth $1 million for Bobby Ryan and Red Wings, as per @CraigCustance.

DET giving him a “show me” deal here. I’ve said before, I think Bobby Ryan has some game left. He’ll get a good chance to show that with the Red Wings.— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) October 9, 2020

And it’s official:

“I’m very excited to wear that jersey.”

Bobby Ryan joins the #HockeyCentral Signing Season panel to discuss signing with the @DetroitRedWings. ✍️#NHLFreeAgency | #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/Vq55Bc5GIZ— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 9, 2020

BREAKING NEWS – The #RedWings are signing Bobby Ryan to a one-year, $1 million deal @DetroitRedWings #NHLFreeAgency
?: https://t.co/TBsGg5uF9f— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) October 9, 2020

From the rumor maestro himself, the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch:

Led to believe the Detroit Red Wings may be the front runners for former #Sens winger Bobby Ryan. He was bought out last month by the club and has been allowed to shop himself around. He’s had a ton of interest. #NHLFreeAgency— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 9, 2020

From the Toledo Walleye:

The ECHL, in conjunction with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association, announced today that the 2020-21 season will commence on December 11, 2020 under a split-season format.

Under the split-season guidelines, the following teams will begin a 72-game season on December 11:

• Allen 
• Florida
• Greenville
• Indy
• Jacksonville
• Kansas City
• Orlando
• Rapid City
• South Carolina
• Tulsa
• Utah
• Wheeling
• Wichita

Additionally, remaining ECHL teams will begin their season on January 15, 2021, competing in a 62-game season upon jurisdictional approval.

The Atlanta Gladiators have elected to take a voluntary suspension for the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 restrictions, returning to play in the 2021-22 season. All Atlanta Gladiators players are immediately free agents for the 2020-21 season.

In light of today’s announcement, the Toledo Walleye have rescheduled Winterfest from December 2020 to December 2021.

Winterfest 2020 was originally scheduled to run from December 17, 2020 through January 3, 2021 and feature two outdoor Walleye games at Fifth Third Field.

Nearly 60,000 people attended events at Fifth Third Field during the ten days of Winterfest in 2015 and the economic impact to county businesses was estimated at $9-$11 million.

The specific dates for Winterfest 2021 will be announced at a later time. The ECHL regular season will conclude on June 6, 2021. A schedule for games from December 11, 2020 through January 14, 2021 will be announced in the near future.

Under this split-season scenario, league standings will be based on winning percentage during the regular season. The postseason format will be based on the eligible competing teams in the regular season and will be announced at a later date.

Red Wings 2020 draft pick Cross Hanas’s father, a former AHL player, spoke to the Peoria Journal-Star’s David Eminian regarding the fact that his son comes from a “hockey family”:

he 2020 NHL Entry Draft had Peoria ties this week as the son of a former Peoria Rivermen player was picked.

Cross Hanas went in the second round (55th overall) to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

His father, Trevor Hanas, was a standout right wing for the Rivermen’s inaugural team in the class-AA ECHL in the 1996-97 season. He played two seasons here and notched 32 goals in 123 games.

Trevor Hanas’ wife, the former Kim Duke, is a Peorian who graduated from Peoria High School. Her grandfather, in fact, is a retired Peoria firefighter.

“I’m pretty proud of my boy, he came up in our program,” said Hanas, 45, a coach in the highly regarded junior hockey program, Dallas Stars Elite Hockey. “I had the opportunity to coach my son when he was a little kid. Saw him go up through the system and make it to Portland of the Western Hockey League, the same major junior league I played in.

“Cross grew up idolizing Malkin and tries to mimic his game. He’s more of a Tomas Hertl (NHL San Jose assistant captain) kind of player, though. He’s physical and competitive, and I told him at 16 how to prepare for what it would be like playing against 19-year-old men in the WHL.”

The Free Press’s Helene St. James surveys the free agent class of 2020 this morning, noting that the Red Wings plan on spending to some extent starting at noon EDT today:

Yzerman needs defensemen, forwards and, most glaringly, a goaltender to replace Jimmy Howard. Free agency is one way to do so, but a more fruitful method is one Yzerman already has used this offseason: Taking advantage of a team in financial distress because of the flat salary cap to acquire a player and a draft pick. Two weeks ago, Yzerman gained a second-round pick in 2021 for taking veteran defenseman Marc Staal and his $5.7 million contact from the New York Rangers. 

Numerous teams are in salary cap trouble, including Yzerman’s former employer, the Tampa Bay Lightning; there’s also the Edmonton Oilers (helmed by ex-Wings GM Ken Holland), the St. Louis Blues and a handful of others.

In addition to not re-signing Howard, Yzerman has parted ways with free-agent defensemen Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson and Madison Bowey, and forwards Justin Abdelkader, Brendan Perlini and Christoffer Ehn.

Yzerman touched on his approach to free agency after Wednesday’s marathon Day 2 of the draft.

“I think overall the cap being flat causes a problem for some of the cap teams,” he said. “Really good teams that have a lot of good players, they all make a lot of money, so I think it limits what they can do. And then the other teams, just the economic climate, I think will be less inclined to be really aggressive. But ultimately we’re all trying to improve our teams and we’re all at different stages. Everybody is generally motivated to do things. We’ll see.”

Continued

Per the Red Wings on Twitter…

?♥️ pic.twitter.com/B85W239Iek

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 8, 2020

From trusted sources…

Assuming Torey Krug is still on track to hit the UFA market tomorrow at noon ET, I’m anticipating the Red Wings making a strong case to sign him once the doors open. But they’ll have plenty of company.— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) October 8, 2020

Sounds like the #NHLBruins have held firm on their 6 x $6.5 million offer to pending UFA D Torey Krug. He’s expected to hit the market tomorrow, but the Bruins have left the door open for them to reconnect once Krug sees what’s out there.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 9, 2020