Author: George Malik

For the 14 seasons Helm played in Detroit:

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. filed his weekly “Dear Red Wings” column this morning, discussing the Red Wings’ free agency moves, and both Bartkowiak and I would like to see the Wings “ride lean” this season:

We knew Wednesday was going to be the start of a wild NHL free agency period. It’s ongoing as I write this Friday morning. So far, Yzerman has been relatively conservative in his approach. He has improved the Red Wings roster, no doubt, but he still has $31 million in cap space. He has so many options. He does have key restricted free agents to deal with, too. There is no reason to think the Red Wings won’t sign RFAs Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Jakub Vrana and Filip Hronek. The question is how much cap space do all of these contracts actually eat up? And for how long?

Personally, I’d love to see this team go into the 2021-22 season with a relatively wide amount of cap space still. Keep some options open for now. I don’t think there is any reason to dish out huge contracts yet. I want to see the young players try to form a solid core in Detroit. I want to see who can crack the lineup, who can prove his value and who wants to earn a new contract. There are a select few Red Wings under contract beyond 2022.

At this point, the move to get goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is the biggest of the Red Wings offseason.

Continued; with six restricted free agents to re-sign, the Wings won’t have $31 million in cap space, but once Bertuzzi, Hronek, Vrana, Erne, Smith and Pearson re-signed, the Wings should still have a fair amount of cap space to bank away for a rainy day, and in this “flat cap” world (at least for a couple more years), that’s smart management.

More than a few Red Wings partisans on Twitter, Facebook and this humble blog have reacted to Darren Helm’s departure for the sometimes-despised Colorado Avalanche, after 14 seasons with the Red Wings organization, with a simple, “So what?”

That’s understandable. Helm, now 34, was playing as 4th line forward on Detroit’s roster last season, and the rivalry with the Avalanche sure isn’t what it used to be…

But I can speak for everybody who reacted to this free agent departure with heartbreak, and I can do it quite simply: sometimes fans’ emotional investments in players are greater than the sum of their on-ice contributions, and for many fans of the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions, Darren Helm was that last connection to the Wings’ salary cap-era Cup.

There is nothing wrong with the Helm fans losing their Gord-dang minds over a past-his-prime player signing with a historical but not present-day rival. This is how fandom works–sometimes we invest an enormous amount of time, energy and effort into following specific players, and losing their services stings.

Rather than bashing Helm for being a bit player whose absence may very well make the Wings more competitive (which is certainly a valid observation regarding the Wings’ departures of Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Ericsson and other 2008-Cup-Era-or-Thereabouts players), I would ask that those of you who don’t feel much sympathy for those shook up by the “changing of the guard” on Steve Yzerman’s Red Wings team to remind yourself that roster turnover isn’t always business in the hearts of sentimental fans.

Hockey is not a business for everyone, and some fans love their “washed-up Wings.” There’s nothing wrong with that. Give them their time and space to grieve as you prepare to move on to the next chapter in Red Wings history.

This is an interesting depth signing, as the Wings pick up a 24-year-old, right-shooting center for depth purposes:

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today acquired center Mitchell Stephens from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Detroit’s 6th round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft. pic.twitter.com/m0SSZvwwzV— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 30, 2021

TRADE: Tampa has traded C Mitchell Stephens to Detroit for a 2022 6th round pick— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 30, 2021

this is 4th line C competition— Prashanth Iyer (@iyer_prashanth) July 30, 2021

yzerman selected stephens 2015 second round, 33rd in tampa https://t.co/vdWO7oIjdH— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) July 30, 2021

#tblightning trade Mitchell Stephens to Detroit, likely making room for Perry. https://t.co/94jDxnAwzU— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) July 30, 2021

Our former captain is coming home #LGRW x #SoarWithUs? https://t.co/C3iILscd0S— Saginaw Spirit (@SpiritHockey) July 30, 2021

Update: Here’s the Wings’ press release:

The Detroit Red Wings signed Luke Witkowski to a two-year contract yesterday, and the move left some Red Wings fans scratching their heads.

Do the Wings really need an enforcer at the NHL level in this day and age? Are the Griffins going to miss Dylan McIlrath’s status as a deterrent that badly?

When Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke with the media yesterday, he had this to say to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff regarding Witkowski:

“He’s rugged, hard nosed,” Yzerman said of Witkowski. The Holland, Michigan-born player made his NHL bow playing for Yzerman from 2014-17 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After leaving Detroit, Witkowski returned to the Lightning organization, although he spent the majority of the past two seasons in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch.

Detroit’s Grand Rapids farm club is Witkowski’s likely destination, although his ability to add unique qualities leaves him in with a chance to find a place with the Wings.

“He’s a great person, a great leader,” Yzerman said. “And again, the versatility. He gives us some depth to play here, to play in Grand Rapids. Great leadership and tough as nails.”

Duff continues; put bluntly, in the AHL, it’s still smart to have a player who’s known for his fisticuffs on your roster, and Witkowski’s ability to slot into the NHL as an injury replacement, at both forward and defense, makes the 31-year-old useful in his role.

Great news from a leadership standpoint for the Griffins and Red Wings’ youngsters:

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today agreed to terms with defenseman Brian Lashoff on a one-year contract. pic.twitter.com/9QroBFcmkH— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 30, 2021

The Captain is back!

More info >> https://t.co/miuQ1hOZWf pic.twitter.com/bxL0RsWMt9— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) July 30, 2021

Update: Here’s the Lashoff press release:

Last night, the Red Wings’ beat writers surveyed the comments made by Wings GM Steve Yzerman during his annual post-free agency press conference.

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes that the GM made the following statement regarding his young players‘ chances of making the team out of training camp:

“For our younger players, if they come to training camp and do well, earn a spot, that’s great,” Yzerman said. “What I’m not necessarily doing is leaving spots open just to hand it to one of the younger players or hand it to them by default. We’re still looking at a few things. Not so much on the back end or in goal, but up front, looking at a few things to potentially add one more player, possibly two. For our young guys that have a chance to crack the lineup, we would rather they simply are better than the players that we have.

“I am kind of talking out of both sides of my mouth. If a young guy can play, great. I don’t want to leave a spot on the roster open to just hand it to anyone, but I’m also not going to sign a free agent, feeling oh, we have a hole, let’s just plug it. I want a guy who can serve a purpose.”

Continued; I have no problem with the concept of not affording roster spots to young players as “placeholders.” Yzerman and coach Jeff Blashill have duly noted that the NHL is not a developmental league.

While Ken Holland’s old concept that you don’t bring players up until they’re “over-ripe” no longer applies, you want any young player who’s brought up from Grand Rapids to be put in a position to flourish on the roster. You don’t want them to struggle to stay out of the press box–when they’re struggling, it’s better to have them in GR.

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke with the media earlier this evening, addressing Detroit’s draft class, the team’s free agency moves, the offseason as a whole (Yzerman says that the team may still add a forward or two on the free agent market), and the respective statuses of Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin as they recover from injuries:

Afterward, the Red Wings’ beat writers examined Yzerman’s 27-minute media availability, and focused upon several topics covered by the Wings’ GM.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan offered this take on Yzerman’s remarks as a whole…

“I hope we’re better,” Yzerman said Thursday during a Zoom call. “It’s the day after the first day of free agency. For the most part, every team sits back and you look at your board and you think you’re a better hockey team. We’ll have some younger players playing bigger roles and sometimes that can be a challenge. Our back end is a little stronger. It’s a little more mobile and maybe we’ll get a little more offense out of it.”

The Wings acquired defenseman Nick Leddy and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in trades (dealing forward Richard Panik, the rights to free agent goalie Jonathan Bernier and draft picks). They lost defenseman Dennis Cholowski to Seattle in the expansion draft, then picked eight prospects in the entry draft, including two first-rounders (defenseman Simon Edvinsson and goaltender Sebastian Cossa) with huge potential.

And in the first two days of free agency, the Wings re-signed forward Sam Gagner, signed defenseman Jordan Oesterle (Dearborn Heights/Dearborn Divine Child) and locked up forward Pius Suter.

Signing Suter, 25, late Wednesday to a two-year contract worth $6.5 million ($3.25 million cap hit, per season) solidified the Wings at the center position. It potentially makes this a better offensive team.

“Having Suter there with a (healthy) Tyler Bertuzzi, and we get a little more offensive output from everyone, I hope that translates to wins,” Yzerman said.

Kulfan continues; Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Yzerman’s remarks regarding the status of captain Dylan Larkin…

The Red Wings lost a real hockey warrior in defenseman Joe Hicketts, whose 5’9″ stature didn’t hold the defenseman back in terms of becoming a fan favorite thanks to his hard-hitting style with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Hicketts signed with the Minnesota Wild organization yesterday (as did Dominic Turgeon), and this evening, Hicketts spoke with Victor Kaisar of Kamloops Radio NL 610 AM regarding his decision to leave the Red Wings’ organization:

“Looking at the Minnesota depth chart, I thought there was lot of opportunity,” Hicketts told NL Sports. “It was something that I was willing and was looking forward to moving forward with with. As things moved along, it seemed more clear to me that that might have been the right fit.”

In 22 NHL games, Hicketts put up five points, all assists. That’s compared to 286 AHL games where he scored 16 goals along with 102 assists for 118 points.

During the 2020-21 season, Hicketts led all Griffins defensemen in scoring with 18 points (1 goal, 17 assists) in 32 games. He also was second on the team in assists, tied for second amongst all AHL defensemen in assists, and tied tenth in overall points.

“No one strives to be a career minor leaguer, you want to make it to the NHL. I think I’ve proven myself more than enough in the American league, now its time to make that step to the NHL,” Hicketts said, noting he wants to make most of his new opportunity.

“I think they’ve only got four NHL defensemen signed right now [in Minnesota], though I’m sure they are going to be more signed. I think there’s opportunity and its about me grabbing that opportunity and running with it now.”

Continued; here’s hoping that Hicketts does indeed earn an NHL spot with the Wild. He’s a great person and a fine athlete.

Here’s the gist of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s free agency press conference, which lasts 27:32: