DHN’s Allen: Thus far, the Wings’ search for offense hasn’t produced much fruit

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the Red Wings have not been able to fully address their search for offense over the course of the first four hours of unrestricted free agency:

The Detroit Red Wings want more goals and have established a willingness to pay $95,238 per goal to acquire them

GM Steve Yzerman signed 21-goal scorer Daniel Sprong, 26, to one-year deal worth $2 million. He has scored 27 goals in 82 games since joining the Seattle Kraken in 2022-23.

As 3:30, the Red Wings had signed goalies James Reimer and Alex Lyon, defenseman Justin Holl and Sprong from what was considered a below average free agent class.

The market’s most desirable forward may have been Alex Killorn. Both Yzerman and coach Derek Lalonde knew him well from their days together in Tampa Bay. However, Killorn chose to sign with the Anaheim Ducks.

Anaheim’s general manager is Pat Verbeek who worked for Yzerman in Tampa Bay. He also had a connection to Killorn.

Continued; 33-year-old Killorn earned a $25-million, 4-year contract, and that’s a bit wacky, even for Detroit to dole out.

Tweet of note: As of 4:13 PM…

Per WXYZ’s Brad Galli…

The Red Wings made free agent signings on Saturday:

– Kraken F Daniel Sprong: one year, $2M (21 goals, 25 assists in 2022-23)
– Sharks G James Reimer: one-year, $1.5M (35 years old)
– Maple Leafs D Justin Holl: three years, $3.4M AAV (6’3″, 31 years old)
– Panthers G Alex Lyon pic.twitter.com/nVNmH5VlB6— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 1, 2023

Good luck in Pittsburgh, Alex Nedeljkovic

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

I think PIT is also signing Alex Nedeljkovic— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2023

Nedeljkovic in Pittsburgh is 1x$1.5M— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2023

Pittsburgh signs goalie Alex Nedeljkovic— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2023

PuckPedia: Red Wings sign depth defenseman Brogan Rafferty to a 2-year, 2-way contract

Per PuckPedia:

Confirmed:

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed defenseman Brogan Rafferty to a two-year, two-way contract. pic.twitter.com/b5Fvwc1ttd— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2023

AHL RHD, coming off a 50-point season for Calder Cup runners up https://t.co/PFTEtXkVNT— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 1, 2023

Here’s the Wings’ press release:

Continue reading PuckPedia: Red Wings sign depth defenseman Brogan Rafferty to a 2-year, 2-way contract

Bultman, PuckPedia: Red Wings sign AHL’er Tim Gettinger

Per PuckPedia and The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

The #LGRW signed 25 y/o Group 6 UFA F Tim Gettinger to 1 year deal

775K Salary
250K Minors

13G 35 in 52 AHL GP

Rep’d by @RyanBarnes52 @QuartexxHockey https://t.co/NntUC8W25w— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 1, 2023

Update: Confirmed:

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed forward Tim Gettinger to a one-year, two-way contract. pic.twitter.com/NERK69cd77— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2023

Update #2: Here’s the Wings’ press release:

Continue reading Bultman, PuckPedia: Red Wings sign AHL’er Tim Gettinger

Justin Holl, reclamation project

The Red Wings signed defenseman Justin Holl to a 3-year contract at $3.4 million per season, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown voices concerns with the deal:

The former University of Minnesota standout was never a  unanimous Toronto fan favorite defenseman. They thought he had too many turnovers.

But some fans believed Holl was the scapegoat when the real defensive problem was the forward group not backchecking.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

But Holl is not the first Toronto defenseman that came to Detroit with a low approval rating in Toronto. One of the legendary tales in Red Wings’ lore is how defenseman Larry Murphy was booed heavily when he played for Maple Leafs and then was traded to Detroit and played in a significant role in helping the Red Wings win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Murphy is now in the Hall of Fame.

No one is suggesting Holl can be a Hall of Famer, but it is possible he could be a steady performer for the the Red Wings. He posted 139 blocked shots and 151 hits last season for the Maple Leafs. Holl’s career Corsi rating is above 50%.

Continued

Marek: Red Wings sign Daniel Sprong to 1-year, $2 million contract

Per Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek:

Daniel Sprong to Detroit 1 year $2m— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) July 1, 2023

Per @jeffmarek, Daniel Sprong to Detroit 1x$2M— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2023

I like the Daniel Spring move for Detroit. 1 year, $2 million. Again, I can’t retweet the people who reported it— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) July 1, 2023

Daniel Sprong was incredibly effective and efficient in very low minutes. Really nice bet by Detroit at a very low cost. The guy can score. pic.twitter.com/jrzMJdwLvI— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) July 1, 2023

There’s some scoring — Sprong had 21 goals last season for Seattle in 66 games. 26 year old, right hand shot has only hit the 20 mark once, but has scored at a 20-goal rate (extrapolated to 82 games) for his career. https://t.co/HfXjshHyCF— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 1, 2023

#RedWings get Daniel Sprong 1/$2 million according to reports; 21-goal scorer in Seattle last season— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) July 1, 2023

Daniel Sprong has signed a one-year deal worth $2M with the Detroit Red Wings, per @JeffMarek. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/jvaJObd6iR— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 1, 2023

Daniel Sprong a nice middle-six/depth-scoring addition. 21 goals / 46 points over 66 last year in Seattle. 26 y/o and much needed right-handed winger.— Octopus Thrower (@OctopusThrower_) July 1, 2023

The @DetroitRedWings have reportedly signed Daniel Sprong! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/E7j8A1u27V— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) July 1, 2023

The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Daniel Sprong to a one-year, $2 million contract. pic.twitter.com/Te8w9U9IOm— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) July 1, 2023

Daniel Sprong, coming off a career high 21 goals, to the Red Wings on a 1-year, $2 million deal. As reported by @JeffMarek.— Mike Benton (@Benton_Mike) July 1, 2023

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed forward Daniel Sprong to a one-year contract with an AAV of $2,000,000. pic.twitter.com/toVdzYgwjE— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2023

Here’s the Free Press’s Helene St. James on Sprong…

Continue reading Marek: Red Wings sign Daniel Sprong to 1-year, $2 million contract

Bultman on the Red Wings’ three-headed goalie monster

As part of The Athletic’s Free Agent Frenzy blog, Max Bultman posted an entry discussing why the Red Wings signed both James Reimer and Alex Lyon:

So, what gives? Well, Detroit certainly wasn’t messing around at this position, after overworking Ville Husso last season. When Husso was fresh, he was a very good starter for them, as seen by his play early in the season and after the All-Star Break. But when the starts piled up, it showed, and he finished with an .896 save percentage as a result.

Reimer is a veteran with a track record of legit NHL backup workloads and had performed pretty well in that capacity before a drop-off last season in San Jose, when he had an .890 save percentage in 43 games. In 2021-22, though, he posted an impressive .911 in 48 games, and is a career .911 goalie. Last year was his first career season below .900, so a bounceback is not out of the question.

He’s 35, though, so it’s entirely possible he’s fading and that trend won’t reverse. That’s why the one-year term is key — and also why it makes sense to also add Lyon, who actually started Games 1 through 4 of the playoffs for the Panthers. That speaks to a solid season for him between the NHL and AHL, posting a save percentage at or above .910 in both leagues.

While Detroit did carry three netminders at times last season, that’s a tough situation to maintain, especially early in a season, so you would expect one of the two to be waived and, ideally, play in Grand Rapids — where the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate Griffins desperately need to improve in net. Pairing an NHL veteran with top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa seems like a natural fit in the youngsters’ progression, and it would insulate Detroit’s NHL situation more as well.