Allen discusses the shape of the Wings’ blueline

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen examines the state of the Red Wings’ defensive corps with the subtractions of Jake Walman and Shayne Gostisbehere, and the additions of Erik Gustafsson and William Lagesson:

The Red Wings’ defense will be different in 2024-25. Jake Walman (traded to San Jose) and Gostisbehere (left through free agency) are gone. That’s 20 missing goals.

Barring a trade, the Red Wings will have nine defensemen at training camp: Gustafsson, Moritz Seider, Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta,  Simon Edvinsson, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, William Lagesson (signed Monday as UFA) and Albert Johansson.

Seider, Petry and Holl are the only right-shot defensemen in that group. It’s not unthinkable that [Holl] will play much more than he did last season.

Presumably, Johansson will compete against Lagesson and maybe others for the eighth and final spot defensive spot on the roster. Johansson is no longer waiver exempt, meaning  he has to go through waivers to be sent to the AHL. The Red Wings don’t believe he would get through waivers without being claimed. Lagesson is on a one-way contract for $775,000, but has spent time in the minors throughout his career. The Red Wings probably would be comfortable having a big salaried player in Grand Rapids.

Edvinsson will likely be in the second pairing with Petry.

With Gostisbehere gone, Seider again becomes the No. 1 power play point man. Gustafsson may get a shot as the No. 2 point man.  Edvinsson may also get an opportunity.

It doesn’t seem like the team will move Holl. He has two years remaining on a contract paying $3.4 million. They could certainly use that cap space. If you set aside $17 million to re-sign Lucas Raymond and Seider, they have about $3.5 mill to sign one more forward.

Continued; I still think that Holl’s going to exit the team, somehow.

Bultman expresses exasperation with the Red Wings’ swing-and-miss first day of free agency performance

The Athletic’s Max Bultman pans the Red Wings’ opening-day-of-free-agency performance, suggesting that the team stagnated at the very best:

Did the Red Wings get better defensively? Not meaningfully, at least beyond the crease. As of this writing, the Red Wings haven’t added any new forwards, so thus far it looks lateral at best up front. On the blue line, Gustafsson might be a marginal upgrade on Gostisbehere in his own end, but his numbers playing next to Braden Schneider on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers are not exactly reflective of what can be expected in Detroit. William Lagesson (who signed for one year at $775,000) gives them some defense-first depth on the left side, but he isn’t expected to be a significant contributor. He played 40 NHL games last season and has played in 100 total NHL games since 2019.

Did Detroit get harder to play against? No, and while the Red Wings still have some time, at this point they might have gone backward. I don’t think the Red Wings would have been wise to give David Perron the two-year, $4 million AAV deal he got in Ottawa, but that doesn’t change the fact the Red Wings just lost their best down-low and wall-playing piece from last season (and one of the best in the NHL). Perron’s feet were a concern, as were some of his penalties, but there was no doubting that he kept possessions alive for the Red Wings deep in the offensive zone, or that he made life tough on opponents. Now he’s playing for a division rival, and Detroit hasn’t replaced him with anyone.

Did the Red Wings at least maintain their offensive attack from last season? Also no, subtracting Perron’s 47 points and losing their 56-point power-play quarterback Gostisbehere, whose three-year contract in Carolina has an AAV just $1.2 million above his apparent replacement, Gustafsson. Gustafsson may get an opportunity to quarterback Detroit’s first power play and run with it, making that swap look fine in time — but is that possibility worth such a small difference in the contract between him and Gostisbehere? Consider: The deal Gostisbehere just signed in Carolina is less money (with the same term) than the one to which the Red Wings signed Justin Holl last July 1. They proceeded to scratch Holl for more than half the season.

Continued (paywall); I just can’t quite wrap my head around dooming the Red Wings to another year without playoff hockey (to quote John Buccigross at the draft) after one disappointing day, but that’s just me.

Update: Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin agrees with Bultman, calling the Wings free agency losers as well:

Detroit Red Wings: Similar to the [Jeff] Skinner buyout logic: If you’re going to ship out one of your top four blueliners in Jake Walman, plus a second-round pick, for nothing, it better be because you have grand plans. As Day 1 of free agency wraps up, Wings GM Steve Yzerman has retained Patrick Kane, but Cam Talbot, Erik Gustafsson, Christian Fischer, William Lagesson and Jack Campbell stand as the biggest additions to a team that missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season last year. How much longer can Yzerman dine out on his legendary status before the fans command more? Detroit’s offseason is simply nowhere near good enough unless a major trade is coming.

Continued

Are the Red Wings nothing but free agency ‘losers’ at 6:20 PM?

It’s just the first day of the NHL’s free agency period, but some six hours in, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman echoes the words of Detroit’s sports talk radio station hosts, suggesting that the Red Wings are “free agency losers”:

Detroit Red Wings: The offseason is far from over for the Red Wings, but it’s gotten off to an underwhelming start. 

The Jake Walman contract dump was an early misstep, but one that could be forgotten with the right corresponding moves that explain why management needed to open up cap space. Those moves just haven’t happened quite yet. 

Detroit missed out on free agents, like Roy, who could have elevated its blue line after subtracting Walman. Erik Gustafsson in place of Shayne Gostisbehere is a pretty lateral move. Extending Patrick Kane should give them a boost, especially after he has a full, healthy offseason to train. But management has yet to identify a David Perron replacement. Back in goal, the Cam Talbot signing crowds the crease unless the plan is to move out one of their existing contracts. 

The Red Wings showed so much promise last season, but management just has yet to punch up this roster to build on it. There is still a lot of time to make it happen, but maybe it’s time to start questioning the Yzerplan. 

Continued (paywall); I happen to believe that the “Yzerplan” is under continued evaluation and question as the Red Wings slowly and surely rebuild, and it’s bloody difficult to do anything other than hold Yzerman accountable for his actions without assuming that he’s infallible–or that he’s a terrible person for not making masterful moves 100% of the time.

Frankly, “It’s time to question the Yzerplan,” or suggesting that “The Yzerplan sucks/is failing” is a crutch in itself.

I’m not saying that the Wings “won” today by any stretch of the imagination–the Walman trade preceded a six-hour-and-twenty-minute swing and a miss at the top free agency targets–but shit happens. You deal with it, adjust your game plan, and learn. Even if you’re Steve Yzerman.

Detroit’s made a whole lot of lateral moves, re-signing Patrick Kane excepted. Now the team has to find other ways to improve itself. It’s gonna take more than six hours and twenty minutes to tell the tale.

A bit about the purpose of the Wings’ summer development camp

As the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes, the Red Wings’ summer development camp is underway at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, with player fitness testing taking place on Monday morning. Kulfan offers this explanation as to why the Red Wings hold said 5-day camp:

There’s been so much news regarding the Red Wings, with the NHL Entry Draft and free agency, that it’s been easy to push the development camp into the background.

But not with the Wings’ talent evaluators, who view this week as one of the most important of the summer.

“You try to give these prospects as much information as we can over the next five days,” said Kris Draper, the Wings’ director of amateur scouting. “The importance of training in the gym, sleep, nutrition, good habits.”

The camp began Monday and will last through Friday morning with a three-on-three tournament. Fifty prospects, including many of the Wings’ recent draft picks, are in attendance. The roster is comprised primarily of players selected by the Wings over the last several drafts, as well as signed free-agent prospects and undrafted free agent invitees from collegiate, junior or European leagues.

Continued

Red Wings make Erik Gustafsson signing official

Per the Red Wings on Twitter:

As of 5 PM on Canada Day, the Red Wings appear ‘stuck in the middle’ of the free agent frenzy

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t stepped backward over the course of the first five hours of unrestricted free agency, but their signings have not necessarily moved the team forward, either.

I posted this when the free agent frenzy was really underway…

And I preached for patience…

But, ultimately, we are where we are:

I think that the next couple of moves are really going to determine whether the Red Wings actually move forward over the course of the summer, or whether they remain “just as good” as they were last season.

Press release: Red Wings confirm Christian Fischer signing

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Red Wings re-sign Christian Fischer to one-year contract

Forward has skated in 477 NHL games with Arizona and Detroit since 2016-17

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today re-signed right wing Christian Fischer to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $1.125 million.

Fischer, 27, skated in 79 games with the Red Wings during the 2023-24 campaign, recording 19 points (5-14-19) and 36 penalty minutes. The 6-foot, 208-pound forward spent the 2022-23 season with the Arizona Coyotes, logging 27 points (13-14-27) and 20 penalty minutes in 80 games. In 2022-23, Fischer tallied his most points in a single season since achieving career highs in goals (15), assists (18) and points (33) as a rookie in 2017-18. Originally selected by Arizona in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Fischer has accumulated 130 points (61-59-130) and 133 penalty minutes in 477 games with the Coyotes and Red Wings since 2016-17. Additionally, Fischer registered 50 points (22-28-50) and 28 penalty minutes in 63 American Hockey League games with the Springfield Falcons and Tucson Roadrunners from 2015-17, competing at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings confirm Christian Fischer signing

Fundraising update: just missing the mark

Okay, here’s my mid-afternoon fundraising update: We’ve raised approximately $600 in funds over the past week, which is awesome…

But it’s not quite enough to get me to Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center for the start of media events at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp tomorrow.

We need to raise about $900 to get the car paid for and the deposit taken care of, and it’s going to be up to you to determine whether I end up missing the first summer development camp since 2006…Being there for part of the time is a lot better than being there for none of the time.

If you’re willing to help, here are the details: you can use Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.” I’m on “Zelle” as rtxg@yahoo.com, too.

As always, thank you for your readership and your time.

Update: FYI: Long-time Wings fan TDL says he’s willing to match the next donation of up to $100 :O