Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Wings may take the trade route if they strike out in free agency

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that, should the Red Wings strike out on a free agent scoring forward and/or top-four defenseman during free agency, the team will likely explore the post-UFA trade market.

However, GM Steve Yzerman has stated that he’s not going to move top prospects for nothing–nor move roster players that create gaps in the team’s depth chart:

“They’re just aren’t a lot of options right [now],” Yzerman said. “I guess I would say when I’m talking to teams right now, everybody wants players like we want players. What do we have to offer?”

Potential trading partner aren’t looking for players with term and salaries that don’t fit well with their production. In other words, team aren’t looking to add J.T. Compher who has three seasons remaining on his deal.

They are looking for low-salaried players with big up-side, like Marco Kasper or Simon Edvinsson.  It makes no sense for Detroit to trade those players. The Red Wings obviously prefer to move prospects who aren’t yet in the NHL or future draft picks. On Saturday, the traded a second-round and fourth-round pick and Petr Mrazek for goalie John Gibson.

“There’s a couple of interesting options (in the trade market), but I think now everybody’s going to focus on free agency for a few days and see where that shakes out,” Yzerman said.

He was asked whether he would trade a top player ?

“Maybe,” Yzerman said. “But it doesn’t necessarily make sense to trade at any position that creates a hole at that position. “

Continued

Red Wings trade Vladimir Tarasenko to Minnesota Wild for future considerations, no salary retained

Updated 2x at 1:36 PM: Per the Detroit Red Wings:

No news as to how much of Tarsenko’s $4.75 million contract was retained by the Wings, if any was retained at all.

UPDATE:

Update #2: Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Max Bultman:

Continue reading Red Wings trade Vladimir Tarasenko to Minnesota Wild for future considerations, no salary retained

Tweet of note: show me the numbers

The Athletic’s Max Bultman is attending the Detroit Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena today, and he’s posted a picture of the Wings attending prospects‘ number assignments and listed heights and weights:

Big defenseman Will Murphy’s happy to have been drafted by the Red Wings

The Red Wings drafted big defenseman Will Murphy with the 172nd overall pick in this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Los Angeles. On Saturday, the 6’4,” 209-pound Cape Breton Eagles d-man spoke with the Charlottetown Guardian’s Jason Simmonds about being drafted:

“It’s a pretty cool, pretty surreal feeling – like a dream come true,” Murphy told The Guardian in a phone interview the evening of June 28. “I mean it doesn’t happen for too many kids, so it’s unique and a cool feeling, especially to experience it all with all my family and friends around… It is really a fun day – once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity). It’s pretty awesome.”

Murphy, who played the 2024-25 season as a rookie with the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), watched the draft at his family home in Miscouche, P.E.I.

When the Red Wings called Murphy’s name, the six-foot-four, 211-pound, 17-year-old defenceman immediately hugged his parents, Ben and Amanda Murphy.

Also in attendance were Murphy’s younger brother, Drew; grandparents, Mike and Barbie Murphy and Dolly Silk; his billets with the Eagles, Ryan and Jennifer MacPherson, along with their two young children, Boyd and Ella.

Continued; Murphy will take part in this week’s Summer Development Camp in Detroit, and he told Simmonds that he’s very happy to have been drafted by the Red Wings:

“They’re definitely one of the teams that seemed interested in me,” said Murphy, who had two goals and four points in 54 regular-season games while playing a defensive-first game with the Eagles. “I’m really pleased with it. It’s pretty close to (P.E.I.)… It’s a great organization and I couldn’t be happier with it.”

THN’s Ferrari’s theoretical draft selections for Detroit include one player the Wings actually selected

The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari posts a set of his preferred draft picks for a theoretical Detroit Red Wings team every year, and only one pick matched up with the Red Wings’ real-world selections:

Round 3, Pick 75: Michal Svrcek, C/W

Detroit selected Michael Pradel, G

Every draft, there is one guy I really want to get with a mid-round pick that I have a tough time waiting on because I value them much higher than the consensus. This year, it was Svrcek. 

Coincidentally, I could have gotten him a bit later when the Red Wings actually selected him 119th overall, but I wasn’t willing to risk him being taken at this point. I had already grabbed [Victor] Eklund and [Eric] Nilson, who I valued as top 20 players in the class, so taking a moderate risk with Svrcek made a ton of sense. 

His motor, speed and offensive creation for himself and his teammates are impressive. He may not have blown the doors off at the World Men’s Under-18s for Slovakia, but he was always keeping up to the bigger nations and consistently found ways to make things happen, even if he wasn’t rewarded. Svrcek has upside as a creative, offensive winger with an excellent motor. A potential middle-of-the-lineup depth scorer who can play up if needed. 

Continued; it’s always an interesting “what if?” exercise to read Ferrari’s projected Red Wings picks.

The top of the UFA wish list

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the Red Wings’ probable free agency targets this morning, and his “needle-movers” are star players, but Bultman’s list does include role players who might make a difference, as well as potential trade candidates:

Aaron Ekblad, RHD, Florida Panthers: When you factor both Detroit’s needs and the potential to land one of the players in this top group, Ekblad comes out on top. He’s a clear top-four defenseman coming off a strong playoff run for the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, and happens to be from just across the river in Windsor, Ontario. There are fair questions on how he will age on the back half of a long-term deal, as a big body who has logged a ton of minutes and plays with an edge. But he remains highly effective, can make an impact at both ends of the ice and would immediately elevate the blue line. That’s a lot to like.

Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Winnipeg Jets: Ehlers doesn’t have Brad Marchand’s hard edge, but he brings a ton of speed and offense to a top six. Crucially, he can produce at five-on-five, which matters for a team that can be pretty power-play dependent for its offense. He’d be another small winger without much edge, which could be an issue for a Red Wings team that wants to be harder to play against, and perhaps makes him less likely. But there’s no doubting his talent.

Brock Boeser, RW, Vancouver Canucks: Boeser is a proven goal scorer with some size, which is immediately interesting. His 40-goal season in 2023-24 is more of an outlier, with 23-29 goals more like his baseline, but his career per-game numbers would translate to 30 goals over a full season, which qualifies as needle-moving. He also has Midwest roots, though it’s worth noting his hometown Minnesota Wild also has cap space to work with.

Continued (paywall); I don’t expect the Wings to add any of the above-named players, but I certainly hope that they can add at least one of them.

Update: The Athletic asked its NHL beat writers what the NHL’s 32 teams should prioritize in free agency, and Bultman weighed in there as well:

Continue reading The top of the UFA wish list

ESPN suggests that the Red Wings prioritize adding defensive help in free agency

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton discuss their free agency recommendations for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, including the Red Wings:

What they should do: The Red Wings pulled off a blockbuster during draft weekend, landing John Gibson from Anaheim in exchange for Petr Mrazek and a pair of picks. That was a needed upgrade for Detroit in net, and allows Gibson to play with another solid veteran in Cam Talbot. That’s a strong start to the offseason for GM Steve Yzerman.

He’ll give his group a chance to get back into the postseason picture by continuing to tweak. Re-signing Kane is an easy boost — he has played well at 5-on-5 and special teams, and has a veteran poise.

It’s the Red Wings’ defense that’s in need of a true upgrade. Detroit gave up the 12th-most goals last season, and the collection of veterans the Red Wings relied on for their second and third pairings weren’t cutting it. There are UFA options available such as Vladislav Gavrikov who might help, or Yzerman could swing a deal for someone such as RFA K’Andre Miller. Regardless of where Yzerman looks, it’s important he finds a defenseman (or two) who can take some pressure off Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson.

Continued; the Wings could use another top-six scorer and a forward with “bite,” too, but defense is the priority…

Discussing defensive UFA targets and the Wings’ free agency strategy

MLive’s Ansar Khan examines several of the Red Wings’ free agent targets ahead of the opening of the unrestricted free agency period, which begins on Tuesday at 12 PM EDT.

Khan emphasizes the Red Wings’ defensive targets, as he believes Detroit needs to shore up its blueline, first and foremost:

Aaron Ekblad, 29, Florida: The Panthers re-signed center Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and have roughly $11 million in cap space with 17 players signed. That won’t be enough to retain their two remaining high-end free agents, Ekblad and Brad Marchand. The Panthers might have anticipated losing Ekblad, the top overall pick in 2014 who’s spent his entire career in Florida, with their trade-deadline acquisition of Seth Jones. Ekblad (6-4, 220) would bring some offensive ability and physicality to the Red Wings’ blue line. As a right-shooter, he’d probably be paired with the lefty Edvinsson. Ekblad is a Windsor native who grew up a Red Wings fan, which might not help but certainly doesn’t hurt. He is coming off an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $7.5 million.

Vladislav Gavrikov, 29, Los Angeles: Kings GM Ken Holland said Saturday on the NHL Network that he’s not close to a deal with Gavrikov, a big, left-shooting defender (6-3, 220) who is coming off a 30-point, plus-26 season and a contract with an AAV of $5.875 million). He would probably replace Chiarot on the top pairing with Seider. The New York Rangers are reportedly interested in him.

Continued (paywall); at this point, the 2025 free agent class is so thin that I wonder whether the Wings will be able to do more than address one particular roster concern during free agency.

The Wings may be able to bolster their blueline or their forward corps, given how many teams are competing for a small number of near-elite players. Most of the teams that are looking have some salary cap space, too, so the prices for the top free agents are going to be high as well.

As Wings GM Steve Yzerman stated this past weekend, it’s entirely possible that the Wings may not sign any free agents, and consider making a post-free agency trade instead.

It would surprise me if the Red Wings re-signed any of Alex Lyon, Craig Smith, Tyler Motte or Jeff Petry, the team’s UFA’s-to-be, and while it’s going to be relatively easy for the Wings to spend given their PuckPedia-estimated $18.41 million of salary cap space, Detroit has to re-sign RFA’s Jonatan Berggren, Albert Johansson and Elmer Soderblom as well.

My best guess at this point is that the Wings sign a second-tier free agent defenseman, that they consider whether to sign a top-six forward, and that the team may be more serious about making a post-free agency trade than any of us assume.

HSJ in the morning: on the Red Wings’ UFA’s and RFA’s

The Free Press’s Helene St. James examines the Red Wings’ 5 unrestricted free agents-to-be and 3 restricted free agents ahead of the start of free agency:

F Patrick Kane, UFA

Kane has said he wants to come back. (The biggest fan of his doing so: His four-year-old son, also named Patrick.) General manager Steve Yzerman also wants Kane back. Kane, 36, has topped 20 goals in each in each of his first two stints with the team, and was their leading scorer after the 4 Nations Face-Off break this past season, with 28 points in 27 games. He had a $4 million cap hit last season, on a bonus-laden contract.

G Alex Lyon, UFA

Lyon, 32, was a career minor-leaguer with spots of NHL success when he signed for two years at $900,000 per season with the Wings two years ago. He emerged as their starter in his first season, but had a rougher time showing consistency in 2024-25. Yzerman has said there’s interest, as the Wings still want a third, proven NHL guy to complement newcomer John Gibson and Cam Talbot, but Lyon may well find more lucrative offers exploring free agency.

D Albert Johansson, RFA

Johansson, 24, was a bit player under Lalonde. Then McLellan came in at Christmas, and in early January, Petry suffered an injury, and voila, as McLellan put it, “we found Albert.” Johansson had nine points in 61 games overall; eight of the points came in the 44 games under McLellan. He’ll get a raise from the $775,000 he signed for last summer, when he was coming off his entry-level contract.

Continued; Craig Smith, Tyler Motte and Jeff Petry are the Red Wings’ other unrestricted free agents, and Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom are the Wings’ other restricted free agents.