Press release: Red Wings officially re-sign Patrick Kane for 1 year

It’s official:

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS SIGN PATRICK KANE TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION

  â€¦ Three-Time Stanley Cup Champion Logged 47 Points in 50 Games with Detroit in 2023-24 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed right wing Patrick Kane to a one-year contract extension.

Kane, 35, joined the Red Wings during the 2023-24 season and ranked among the team leaders with 20 goals (4th), 27 assists (8th), 47 points (T6th), two power play goals (T10th), 15 power play points (7th), three overtime goals (T1st), seven game-winning goals (1st) and 147 shots (6th) in 50 games. The 5-foot-10, 177-pound forward split the 2022-23 campaign between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, recording 57 points (21-36-57) and 16 penalty minutes in 73 regular-season games, in addition to six points (1-5-6) in seven postseason contests with the Rangers. Kane played in 16 seasons with the Blackhawks from 2007-23 and ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders with 1,161 games played (3rd), 446 goals (3rd), 779 assists (2nd), 1,225 points (2nd), 122 power play goals (4th), 398 power play points (3rd), nine overtime goals (T2nd), 67 game-winning goals (4th) and 3,866 shots (3rd). Additionally, Kane places among Chicago’s greatest playoff performers with 136 games played (3rd), 52 goals (4th), 80 assists (3rd), 132 points (3rd), eight power play goals (10th), 41 power play points (7th), five overtime goals (1st), 11 game-winning goals (T1st) and 422 shots (3rd). In total, Kane has racked up 1,284 points (471-813-1,284) and 442 penalty minutes in 1,230 NHL games since 2007-08, trailing only Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin for the most points among active skaters.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings officially re-sign Patrick Kane for 1 year

Funny Tweet of note: WiiM’s Helmeroids offers perfect free agency abbreviations

Winging it in Motown‘s Helmeroids came up with a gem of a Tweet that I have to share, because it includes some hilarious NHL free agency abbreviations:

HSJ on moveable roster pieces (and a short discussion thereof)

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an interesting idea while discussing the Red Wings’ free agency plans on Sunday night, noting that the Red Wings can possibly move Olli Maatta (or Justin Holl? The Wings get a second buyout window if they file for arbitration against any one of their restricted free agents–Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider or Joe Veleno) to alleviate their logjam on defense:

[Red Wings GM] Yzerman also has to sort out his defense. Does he manage to bring back Shayne Gostisbehere? He made a world of difference on the power play, and added offense from the back end. If that happens, who goes? Olli Määttä is highly tradable – 29 years old, one year left at $3 million – but he was also the defenseman who partnered best with Gostisbehere.

Yzerman said over the weekend at the draft in Las Vegas that he “can’t bring everyone back.” So the priority is Kane, then Gostisbehere, and then see how much money is left. The Wings have roughly $32 million in salary cap space, but half of that is earmarked for contracts for restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.

…

If the Kane situation can get settled, it at least gives the Wings a little breathing room going into free agency. They still need some depth players up front, and a third-string goaltender.

The Red Wings only have thirteen players signed, per PuckPedia–6 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 2 goalies–so there’s going to be some movement in the second half of the roster. The Wings will need bottom-six forwards, another defenseman and a “bridge goalie” (to help Sebastian Cossa, Carter Gylander and the Griffins-contracted ECHL’er Jan Bednar) at the very least, with the aforementioned Berggren, Raymond, Seider and Veleno accounting for a potential 3 more forward and 1 more defensive spots.

I’m assuming that Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, James Reimer, Zach Aston-Reese, Taro Hirose and Wyatt Newpower will walk, the Wings didn’t qualify Jared McIsaac, and Radim Simek signed with Liberec in the Czech Extraliga, so the team will need depth pieces.

Which “down the roster”/depth players would you like to see the Red Wings approach?

Tweet of note: Red Wings qualify Berggren, Veleno, Raymond, Seider; McIsaac not qualified

Per the Red Wings, no surprises here:

Now Berggren, Veleno, Raymond and Seider can reject their “QO’s,” and the only ways to prevent offer sheets on any restricted free agents is for either the player or the team to elect salary arbitration.

As the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood notes, it’s too bad that McIsaac is going out the door:

McIsaac’s case was a little interesting because despite being a skilled, mobile defenseman when the Red Wings picked him, he struggled with injuries throughout his time under contract and could never quite establish a rhythm. McIsaac signed a one-year prove-it deal with Detroit last offseason, but he ended up going on loan to Switzerland and then to the AHL’s Providence Bruins because of a logjam on the Grand Rapids blue line. While a lack of a qualifying offer doesn’t mean he can’t return to the Detroit system, McIsaac is most likely going to sign with a different team, NHL or other.

LeBrun, Brooks, Friedman: Wings will sign Kane to 1-year contract

This is a surprise!

And as he’s 35, per MLive’s Ansar Khan…

No confirmation from the team yet or any word on the value of the deal, but it is likely to include performance incentives.

Kane, 35, was an ideal fit with the team, tallying 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games after signing in late November for the remainder of the season for a prorated $2.75 million. He stepped up in key moments and scored three overtime goals.

Update: The Associated Press confirms, as does the New York Post’s Larry Brooks…

And Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friemdan:

Kaplan: Kane will re-sign with Detroit on Monday

Per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan:

Patrick Kane is signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings when NHL free agency begins Monday, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Kane, 35, returns to Detroit after finishing the regular season with 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games after joining the team in November following hip resurfacing surgery. Kane had been hampered by his hip over the previous few seasons but finally looked like his old dominant self again — which made him an attractive free agent this summer. The Red Wings just missed out on the playoffs, extending their postseason drought to eight seasons. However, sources said Kane believes the Red Wings are a talented team moving in the right direction and that he hopes to lead them back to the playoffs this season.

Sources did not reveal the terms of Kane’s new contract but it is believed to be more than the $2.75 million he played for last season.

Also:

The Red Wings also have been in contact with David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere about potential returns, and are working on extensions for young cornerstones Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

Tweets of note: Kaplan discusses Trouba and Kane situations

FYI from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan:

ESPN’s Doerrie issues draft grades

ESPN’s draft expert, Rachel Doerrie, has issued a Sunday-afternoon slate of 2024 NHL Draft grades for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and here’s what she has to say about the Red Wings’ draft haul:

Detroit Red Wings
Grade: B

The Red Wings need a high-end scorer, which many believed would be Jake Guentzel in free agency. It now seems like it may be Steven Stamkos.

In terms of picks, they left value on the board with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, but got good value in the Ondrej Becher selection, and I liked the Max Plante selection. There is no doubt Brandsegg-Nygard will be a middle-six NHL player and an effective one at that. There’s nothing to write home about, but nothing to be too disappointed in, either. A perfectly fine draft.

Continued (paywall); I’ll take the “B” at this point.

Regarding the probable end of the ‘Sprong Song’

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a superb article which summarizes the Red Wings free agency outlook, and he dug into the bottom of the depth chart to discuss the borderline Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins’ players.

He also discusses the 1i-goal-scoring elephant in the room in Daniel Sprong, who probably won’t be back due to his status as an even-strength defensive liability:

Daniel Sprong, RW/LW
Last contract: $2 million AAV for one year
Season stats: 76 games played, 18 goals, 25 assists, 55.8% on-ice expected goals, 19.8% share of possible ice time

If you take him for what he is — a bottom six sniper who struggles to defend — Sprong is a valuable role player. He was a great source of offensive depth for the Red Wings, especially on the power play where he scored 12 of his points. But with Sprong, there’s always the big what-if of the player he could be if he rounded out his game. At 27 years old, Sprong has the odds of doing that stacked against him.

That’s probably why Sprong is most likely to be a free agent. His scoring gives him bargaining power for a pay raise, but his prioritization of scoring is antithetical to the defensive responsibility that Detroit wants to emphasize in the future. And this future seemed all but decided when Lalonde scratched Sprong late in the season with playoff hopes on the line. If trust in Sprong is lacking, it’s safe to say he’ll be moving on to another team.

Continued (at length); I just don’t think that the Red Wings can pay Sprong what his goal-scoring total merits on the open market.

That’s okay. It’s going to stink to lose his production, but Sprong was an utterly terrifying player to deal with in terms of his defensive lapses and role on the team as a 3rd/4th line player. Maybe another team gives “Sprong Song” a real chance to be in their top six, and he shines. We can hope that it happens, and that it isn’t within the Red Wings’ division

Tweet of note: Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli says Wings have ‘made progress’ with Kane

Per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:

From Seravalli’s article:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Daily Faceoff’s Seravalli says Wings have ‘made progress’ with Kane