In his end-of-season availability for the press, the General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, had plenty to share about his team’s progress this year. After an 11-point bump from last season, the Red Wings tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Washington Capitals but were on the outside looking in due to the Capitals earning more regulation wins.
Being very non-committal about any dramatic changes coming to the roster, Yzerman did mention that forward Jonatan Berggren and defenseman Albert Johansson are already on the short-list to make the roster out of training camp for the 2024-25 NHL season (Article Link). A rumored trade candidate at this year’s deadline, Yzerman may be vocalizing his belief that Berggren is an NHL-ready talent, to boost his trade value to the 31 other teams.
Of the four forwards on the roster set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, Yzerman is giving strong consideration to extending veteran David Perron. Not quite the player he used to be throughout his tenure with the St. Louis Blues, Perron is a valuable locker-room presence and scored big goals during pivotal moments for the Red Wings down the stretch.
For the other three including Patrick Kane, Daniel Sprong, and Christian Fischer, there is a decent probability that none of the trio will be back in Detroit next season. Now that Kane has proven himself healthy, and Sprong has become a legitimate top-six caliber forward, they may have already priced themselves off Detroit’s roster for next year.
Other Red Wings notes:
- One organizational prospect who will most likely not leap to North America next season is Swedish defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka according to Max Bultman of The Athletic. Originally the 17th player off the board in the 2023 NHL Draft, Sandin Pellikka’s career projections took a massive jump this season as he scored 10 goals and 18 points through 39 games in the SHL. In international play, Sandin Pellikka famously scored two goals and six points in 10 games for Team Sweden at the most recent IIHF World Junior Championships, becoming one of the more impactful players in the tournament.
- In an article from Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press, all signs are pointing to Detroit carrying three goaltenders on the roster once again next season. Given that the team already has Ville Husso and Alex Lyon signed into next season, the Red Wings could look to keep James Reimer around for a second year or look to the free agent market for a different option. The trio worked out mildly well for the organization throughout the regular season, as the Red Wings finished with a team save percentage of .897, good for 19th in the league.
Still not seeing the Yzerplan bear any fruit. Gotta think that patience is starting to wear thin, as they haven’t found much success these past 5 years with him in the helm. Wishing him nothing but the best, but dumpster diving isn’t gonna help this team make it to the playoffs. They need to keep adding bigger guns, like the DeBrincat trade.
Huh? They literally finished in a tie for 8th in the East. They missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker. This is a team that has continued to trend upward under Yzerman, and they are on the precipice now that teams like Pittsburgh and Washington are falling apart.
I’m sorry…do you think tying for being dead middle of the conference after 5 years of rebuilding is good?
This is Detroit. This is Hockey Town. In 5 years of Yzerman rebuilding we expect to be cup contenders, not “make the playoff” contenders.
If that’s your vision of success after years of rebuild go root for an expansion team somewhere. Red Wings are hockey royalty and should be competing at that level. When we give you 5 years to accomplish it and we tie for being “mid” then that’s a big fail.
You sound like a Leafs fan. Rebuilding correctly takes time.
What an ignorant statement. Yzerman had zero prospects in the system, zero tradable players on the team, multiple horrendous contracts. He literally said from day one this is a long term solution. He wants to compete on a yearly basis not a flash in the pan every other year.
Keep Sprong. Move on from the rest of the UFAs.
If they don’t fix their goaltending situation, they’ll miss the playoffs again next season.
It just didn’t look right seeing Kane in a Wings sweater.
Let Perron/Kane go. Make the attempt to keep Sprong/Fischer. And figure out the mess on defense with Chiarot/Petry/Holl and their sucking up over $10M in cap space next season.
Can’t afford a repeat of the Ken Holland “walking the plank” approach. Spending the bank on a faint hope of staying in playoff contention by buying old talent that just didn’t have the gas or the team synergy to make it happen. After those guys left, the bench was almost empty for years. Nothing in the AHL either.
A huge mistake to try to rebuild only top to bottom. Its flying without a parachute.
Patience, let this develop from the ground up. Big steps are already taken, with some solid prospects in the offing.
Goal tending is pretty fair if Lyon remains healthy and Reimer stays one more year. Husso has some issues, not just injury. Something happened to cool him off even before his first injury this season. Might be a chance for a new comer to be #3 next year (not necessarily an existing NHLer).
Oh, by the way, there is still the issue with team defensive play. Better in the last weeks of the season, but glaring holes in 200 foot play and defensive zone responsibilities. GAs drain the offensive confidence which we saw quite a bit of this season especially in losing to lesser teams.
Players consistently deep in the plus/minus hole tells a story of especially the forward’s defensive responsibilities. I probably harp on this too much but it is an issue that should be addressed.
Fabri, Veleno, and Perron with even Raymond having a tough go in the plus/minus stats. They need some remedial attention to the game responsibilities.
If you were playing or coaching against the Redwings.
Attacking the O-Zone, where would you prefer to make plays on the Redwing net, or position your top shooter?
Chances might be better against the plus/minus player with a big negative plus minus stat. They are out on the ice for higher level of goals against so a bit better chance of a scoring play from that player’s defensive responsibility area.
But then, I’m just an old guy now thinking about players with multi million dollar contracts, no matter how they play.