The Malik Report

Summarizing the beat writers’ takes on the Red Wings’ first day of free agency, 2020

The Detroit Red Wings filled a couple of “holes” in the roster in the low-risk signings of Bobby Ryan and Jon Merrill today, but the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan duly notes that the Wings are not done in terms of achieving their free agency roster-reinforcing goals:

“Obviously we still have some positions to fill that we will continue to pursue,” Yzerman said. “We still have some holes in our lineup we’re trying to address in free agency. If we’re not able to do that, we’ll kind of wait and see what other opportunities may come over the remainder of the offseason, depending on what some of the other teams do.”
The Wings need a goaltender to team with Jonathan Bernier, could use another defenseman, and another forward, so there is work to be done.

Yzerman was honest about the state of his team as far as free agency is concerned:

The NHL Network discusses Ryan in Detroit

Here’s the NHL Network discussing Bobby Ryan’s probable impact upon the Red Wings, for 3-and-a-half minutes:

#RedWings Yzerman on media call said they still have needs (goalie, defense) but “if we’re not able to do that now, we’ll wait and see what opportunities come up over the course of the remainder of the off-season.”— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 10, 2020

Torey Krug isn’t coming to Detroit; he signs with St. Louis

Per the Associated Press:

Defenseman Torey Krug, one of the top prizes in this year’s free-agent class, has agreed to a seven-year contract worth $45.5 million with the St. Louis Blues, the team announced Friday night.
A blue-line staple for the Bruins, Krug, 29, has spent his entire NHL career with Boston, playing in 523 games. A quarterback of the power play, he has 67 career goals and 337 points.

Now that it’s over, let’s be honest, fellow Wings fans:

Krug wanted to win and wanted to make a mint. The Wings couldn’t offer him both aspects of his free agency desires, so let him go.

Sometimes we don’t get all the guys we want to get.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2020

Flip ’em?

MLive’s Ansar Khan surmises that the Red Wings will not only experience another rebuilding season, but will also sell off multiple players in order to accumulate draft picks at the trade deadline:

Yzerman’s strategy Friday when NHL free agency opened was clear: Sign veteran players on inexpensive one-year contracts, providing the team flexibility to move them at the trade deadline for draft picks.
The Red Wings filled some roster holes by signing right wing Bobby Ryan ($1 million) and defenseman Jon Merrill ($950,000) to one-year deals.
…
If things go well, perhaps the Red Wings will extend Ryan or Merrill or even both. But for now, they join a lengthy list of players in the final year of their contracts who the Red Wings can flip at the deadline. That list includes defenseman Marc Staal, acquired last month from the New York Rangers along with a second-round pick, and center/right wing Sam Gagner, who was re-signed for $850,000.
Forwards Darren Helm, Luke Glendening and Valtteri Filppula; defenseman Patrik Nemeth and goaltender Jonathan Bernier also are entering the final year of their contracts and could be moved for picks.
Not all of these players would draw interest, and Yzerman wouldn’t completely gut his roster, needing some players to finish a season that will tentatively start on Jan. 1.

Khan continues…

Bobby Ryan praises Yzerman’s passion for his team

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield notes that new Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan decided to sign with the Wings for some very specific reasons:

Bobby Ryan, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit on Friday, said that after he heard from Steve Yzerman in free agency, he had no desire to hear from anyone else.
His mind was already made up.
“While I did still have some other meetings and calls and back-and-forth’s with my agents, my heart just wasn’t in it,” Ryan said on a Zoom call with local media. “Because I had spoken to Steve first, and it was a 45-minute call that just left me with the impression that it was the right fit, without knowing what else was out there. It didn’t feel like it was going to matter. I knew where I wanted to be based on (our) conversation.
“The passion that comes through for the Red Wings, through him, is contagious. I left and walked out of the room and told my wife, ‘I think we’re signing in Detroit.’ I would go through the process like I’m supposed to with everything else, but after the phone call I didn’t feel like I needed to hear anything else from anybody.”

Continued with similar remarks from Dylan Larkin….

? pic.twitter.com/mXBekOGjGz— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020

Bobby Ryan talked with Steve Yzerman for 45 minutes, left the room and told his wife they were going to Detroit.

“The passion that comes through for the Red Wings, through him, is contagious,” he said. pic.twitter.com/BmNEcXHSS2— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 9, 2020

Depth signings: Wings bring back Kyle Criscuolo, sign goaltender Kevin Boyle, forward Riley Barber

FYI:

UPDATE: The #RedWings today agreed to terms with center Kyle Criscuolo and goaltender Kevin Boyle on one-year contracts. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/qHMpkiE8au— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020

UPDATE: The #RedWings today agreed to terms with right wing Riley Barber on a two-year contract. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/XuRPmHheSK— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 9, 2020

Criscuolo is 28 and he once played for the Grand Rapids Griffins; Boyle is also 28 and played for San Diego last year; Barber is 26 and played for the Canadiens and Penguins’ AHL teams last year.