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Red Wings Have Had Talks About Linus Ullmark

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The Vegas Golden Knights have reportedly been in talks with the Boston Bruins about acquiring goaltender Linus Ullmark (as per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia). The news is a bit surprising given the Golden Knights’ depth at the position, however, Vegas has received interest in their own goaltenders and might see Ullmark as a way to improve their netminding in the short term.

Boston has reportedly been looking at a center in exchange for Ullmark, and Vegas could potentially make that happen although it would create a hole in their forward group. The Golden Knights currently have Adin Hill and Logan Thompson under contract for next season, however, neither goalie was able to grab the net last season and both men posted save percentages below .910. It’s always interesting to see Vegas pop up in trade negotiations as they have a recent history of getting the players that they target, and Ullmark would certainly solidify the position for the team for the next couple of seasons.

In other morning notes:

  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings have had talks with the Boston Bruins regarding goaltender Linus Ullmark. Garrioch didn’t specify when the trade talks took place, but it is possible they happened before Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said that he wasn’t interested in a veteran goalie who wouldn’t be with Detroit in 2-3 years (as per Sean Shapiro). Yzerman also told the media he wasn’t opposed to improving Detroit’s goaltending if something made sense, and Ullmark would be a dramatic improvement over any of the other netminders in Detroit’s depth chart. Detroit gave up 274 goals last season, finishing 24 out of 32 teams.
  • Colorado Avalanche writer Adrian Dater tweeted that he believes the Avalanche will re-sign forward Jonathan Drouin. Dater called his speculation “an educated guess” but added that there are still conversations between the team and the 29-year-old pending unrestricted free agent. Drouin came over to the Avalanche last summer as a free agent, signing a bargain one-year contract for $825K. That deal was an absolute steal for Colorado as Drouin regained his offensive form and tallied 19 goals and 37 assists. Any long-term deal with Drouin will carry a certain degree of risk given his play in previous years, however, he should be able to fetch a short-term commitment this summer with a healthy AAV.

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Red Wings. 

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Lucas Raymond – The Red Wings have the never-exciting privilege of putting a price to their leading scorer this summer, with Raymond set for a substantial pay raise after posting 31 goals and 72 points in 82 games this season. He was incredibly productive on his entry-level contract, totaling 71 goals and 174 points in 238 games and quickly vindicating his top-five selection in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Red Wings intend to take their time in negotiating with both Raymond and Seider, which could drag negotiations through the summer, though it seems inevitable that Detroit will soon be locking up a their top winger for the foreseeable future.

F Joe Veleno – Joe Veleno hasn’t yet vindicated his first-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft, though he did seem much more comfortable handling a daily NHL role this season – his third full-time year in the league. Veleno scored a career-high 12 goals and 28 points in 80 games this season, while serving a quaint role on the team’s third line. He hasn’t done much to warrant a particularly expensive new deal but he filled a role worth re-signing. At 24, a mid-term deal would take Veleno through his remaining RFA years and give him a chance to solidify his role with the team amidst his prime.

D Moritz Seider – Detroit’s summer will be co-headlined by Moritz Seider, after he spent all three seasons of his entry-level contract as the team’s top defenseman. He’s averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time through the first 246 games of his career – not missing a single game, scoring 134 points, and earning one Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2022 along the way. That’s a dazzling way to spend the first contract of a career, and Seider will be due for a confident raise as a result. While he’s yet to reach the heights of his 50-point rookie year – scoring 42 in each of the last two seasons – Seider has accomplished enough before his 23rd birthday to place himself among the league’s highest paid defenders.

Other RFAs: F Jonatan Berggren, D Jared McIsaac

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Patrick Kane – Future Hall of Fame winger Patrick Kane joined the Red Wings in December after a dramatic return from hip resurfacing surgery this season. His return from injury was bumpy, with Kane in and out of the lineup with day-to-day issues as he beefed up his conditioning. But Kane returned to his usual self soon after, ultimately scoring 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games with the Red Wings – though plagued by ineffectiveness on defense. The 35-year-old legend has an unclear future ahead, with Detroit saying they’ll keep in touch ahead of July 1st and Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson confirming they aren’t looking for a reunion. His scoring is still encouraging – and his precedence is no doubt impressive – but too high of an asking price could make Kane hard for many teams to budget for.

F Daniel Sprong – Daniel Sprong vindicated a one-year, $2MM contract with the Red Wings with 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games this season. The performance was plenty of an encore to Sprong’s 21 goals and 46 points in 66 games with the Seattle Kraken last year, and seems to have finally solidified Sprong as an impactful middle-six winger years after his highly-discussed second-round selection in 2015. Sprong is due a raise from his $2MM salary this summer but he’ll likely not be able to demand much, with still little to show for his 344 games in the league. He seems set for a hardy extension this summer, and a return to an impactful role on Detroit’s second line next season.

D Shayne Gostisbehere – Shayne Gostisbehere joined Sprong in vindicating his signing this season, posting 10 goals and 56 points in 81 games while serving out a one-year, $4.125MM contract. Gostisbehere returned to his 50-point form after a runaround season last year that saw Gostisbehere traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Carolina Hurricanes mid-year. But through all of the moves, Gostisbehere has continued his run as a stout second-pair defenseman, playing well enough to earn added salary and term this summer. Locking him up will go a long way towards solidifying Detroit’s depth throughout their defense.

Other UFAs: F David Perron, F Christian Fischer, F Zach Aston-Reese, F Austin Czarnik, F Taro Hirose, F Matt Luff, D Wyatt Newpower, G James Reimer, G Michael Hutchinson

Projected Cap Space

The Red Wings are entering the summer with plenty to do – but they’ll thankfully also have plenty to spend, with $29.367MM in projected cap space. There’s a very good chance that Raymond and Seider could eat into the majority of that space, though even $10MM should be enough to let Detroit sure up their depth pieces. Detroit could also choose to prioritize a few flashier free agency additions, with the promise of top prospects like Nate Danielson and Simon Edvinsson sure to help round out the offense soon.

Red Wings Notes: Seider, Raymond, Larkin, Defense, Goaltending

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Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman met with the media today (video link) to discuss his team heading into the draft and upcoming free agency period.  The biggest item on their to-do list this summer is getting new deals in place for pending restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.  While Yzerman was hoping to have deals in place early for those two, it doesn’t appear that will be the case.  If Detroit wants to sign both players long-term, that could take up more than half of their $29.3MM of cap space (per CapFriendly) which would play a big role in their offseason spending.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a fair bit of that money go unspent on July 1st, leaving themselves options to lock up their two key pieces.

More from Detroit:

  • Yzerman confirmed that center Dylan Larkin had minor surgery for an upper-body injury sustained late in the season that kept him out of playing at the Worlds. At the moment, he hasn’t been cleared to skate although he has been training.  Larkin, who averaged over a point per game this season for the first time, is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in the fall.
  • The Red Wings have a deep back end on paper in terms of having plenty of veterans plus some prospects on the cusp of being NHL-ready. While Yzerman indicated that he’d like to try to re-sign pending UFA Shayne Gostisbehere, he also acknowledged that he’s not sure about bringing back the same group of blueliners next season.  With Simon Edvinsson appearing to be ready for a full-time role and Albert Johansson now waiver-eligible, it seems like one way or the other, they will have to subtract from their current group in the coming weeks.
  • Yzerman noted that goaltender Ville Husso is fully healthy now while fellow netminder Alex Lyon will be ready for training camp after leaving the Worlds early last month. He stated that the team will look into the goalie market but that he isn’t looking to bring in an older netminder who won’t be around in a few years, nor does he want to carry three goalies on the NHL roster full-time next season.  Speculatively, that suggests they’ll likely be primarily looking for a playing partner for prospect Sebastian Cossa who should see the bulk of the playing time with AHL Grand Rapids once again in 2024-25.

Red Wings Sign Albert Johansson To Two-Way Extension

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Defense prospect Albert Johansson is sticking in Motown as the Red Wings announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for the left-shot blue liner. PuckPedia reports that the deal pays $775K in the NHL, $90K in the minors, and has a guarantee of $110K.

While yet to make his NHL debut, the 2019 second-round pick is a strong candidate to make the opening night roster next season. That’s because he’s no longer waiver-exempt, and Detroit stands a high risk of losing him for nothing if they expose him to the rest of the league during preseason to send him back to AHL Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids is where the Swedish defender has spent the entirety of the last two seasons. There, the promising two-way defender has put up solid numbers, totaling 11 goals, 25 assists, 36 points, 84 PIMs, and an even rating in 119 games. It wasn’t his first taste of professional hockey, though. Johansson played the majority of the preceding three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Färjestad BK, where he fared well against primarily older competition with 57 points and a +10 rating in 141 games. He won a league title with Färjestad in 2022 before coming over to the Wings.

While likely not a first-unit power-play quarterback at the NHL level, Johansson is extremely cerebral with the puck and has the skating ability and hands to match. He’s solid at puck retrievals and keeping play out of his own end, remaining projectable as a second or third-pair NHL defenseman with solid possession numbers and some special teams upside.

The native of Karlstad, Sweden, was slated for RFA status this summer, although he wasn’t eligible for salary arbitration. That will change next year after one more season of professional experience.

Red Wings Undecided On Keeping Or Moving Justin Holl

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  • In his latest mailbag piece, The Athletic’s Max Bultman covered what the Red Wings might do with defenseman Justin Holl moving forward. He was expected to play a key shutdown role for the club this season after inking a three-year, $10.2MM deal in free agency last summer, but he wasn’t even a regular in the lineup halfway through the year. Holl played in just 38 games, posting five assists and a +8 rating while averaging 15:05 per game. Bultman thinks it may be wise to pump the brakes on any buyout/trade speculation despite the tough season, though – after all, this is the same front office that gave him the three-year commitment less than a year ago. But he does point out the Red Wings offloading winger Klim Kostin, who carries a $2MM cap hit, on the Sharks midseason. He was in a similar situation to Holl, falling into frequent healthy scratch territory after being acquired by GM Steve Yzerman last summer.

Radim Simek Signs In Czech League

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It has been quite a fall lately for Radim Simek who wound up not seeing any NHL action this season.  Instead of testing the open market to see what might be out there for him, he has instead elected to return home as Liberec in the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve inked the defenseman to a three-year contract.

The 31-year-old had originally played in Liberec’s system before coming to North America for the 2018-19 campaign.  Simek established himself as a regular when healthy in his first couple of years in San Jose.  Then-GM Doug Wilson had seen enough to reward him with a four-year, $9MM deal with the hopes that he’d continue to improve and be able to play more regularly.

Unfortunately for the Sharks, neither of those things happened.  He failed to average even 15 minutes a game over the first three years of that deal while he battled more injury trouble and found himself a frequent healthy scratch at times.

That resulted in a change of plans for this past season.  San Jose elected to put him on waivers in training camp and assigned him to the AHL’s Barracuda.  He played in 40 games with them, recording 16 points before being moved to Detroit at the trade deadline as a salary offset in the Klim Kostin trade.  The Red Wings opted to keep Simek in the minors where he got into nine regular season games for the Griffins plus eight playoff contests, collecting three assists in that span.

Simek leaves North America with 209 career NHL games under his belt, all coming over parts of five seasons with San Jose.  In that span, he had seven goals and 22 assists along with 256 blocks and 419 hits.  Considering he’ll be 34 when this contract ends, there’s a good chance this is the end of the road at the NHL level for Simek but as an undrafted player, he still had a pretty good run.

Gabriel Seger Signs AHL Deal With Grand Rapids

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  • The Red Wings’ farm team has added one of the more intriguing remaining college free agents as AHL Grand Rapids announced the signing of Gabriel Seger to a one-year deal. The 24-year-old had a breakout showing in his final collegiate campaign, leading Cornell in scoring with 14 goals and 30 assists in 44 games although it wasn’t enough to land him an NHL deal in recent weeks.

Hypothetical Scenarios For Detroit's 2024 NHL Draft

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In an article today from Max Bultman of The Athletic (Subscription Required), he theorizes three hypothetical options for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2024 NHL Draft: stay put, trade down, and trade up. After it took until the last game of the regular season for the Red Wings to be eliminated from the postseason, there are several different directions that General Manager Steve Yzerman could take in Vegas.

If Detroit stays put, one of the most common mock picks at 15th overall is Michael Brandsegg-Nygård of Mora IK in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan. Brandsegg-Nygard would be a very safe pick at 15th overall, given that he is one of the most mature players in the draft already, meaning it shouldn’t take him too long to crack the Red Wings roster. However, if Detroit does stay put, with a decent amount of organizational depth at the forward position, they could look for a high-risk high-reward prospect at 15th overall such as Cole Eiserman or Michael Hage.

Yzerman’s second most likely option would be to trade down a few spots to clear some cap space for the offseason. The Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks represent likely trade options in this scenario, given the bevy of cap space each team has. The Red Wings may be able to move the 15th overall pick and Justin Holl’s contract to the Blackhawks in exchange for the 18th overall pick, or send the 15th overall pick and potentially both Holl and Ben Chiarot to the Ducks in exchange for the 31st overall pick if they want to get aggressive.

Lastly, since the Red Wings are unlikely to trade into the top 10 of the NHL Draft, their most likely partners in a trade-up scenario would be the Philadelphia Flyers or Buffalo Sabres. With the Flyers amid their rebuild, and the Sabres unlikely to trade with a division rival, would it make sense for Detroit to move up three spots? The price would be too high for Yzerman to trade up, and they may be left with similar options with the 15th overall pick regardless.

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Red Wings Could Target Goaltending This Summer

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Jonas Siegel of The Athletic speculates what a potential Mitch Marner trade might look like for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Siegel points to several recent trades for Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dougie Hamilton as templates the Maple Leafs could use to get a return package for the 27-year-old Marner. Both of those trades brought young NHL-ready talent back to their respective teams, which is something that Toronto would likely covet given their competitive window.

Siegel points to the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning as teams that the Maple Leafs could potentially do business with. Carolina could dangle Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas as potential centerpieces of a return for Marner, while Tampa Bay could use Mikhail Sergachev or Brandon Hagel.

Siegel does concede that any potential Marner trade could be nixed by his no-movement clause and might be a difficult trade for Toronto to win. However, with Marner’s pending free agency status, it may be something they need to explore.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Max Bultman of The Athletic wonders if the Detroit Red Wings might be players in the goaltending market this summer, specifically the trade market where several high-end starters are available. Bultman writes that the Red Wings’ general manager isn’t revealing much but adds that Ville Husso’s health could nudge the Red Wings into the trade market and would be the quickest way to improve the team’s overall defense which was something that was an Achilles heel last season. Detroit missed the playoffs by the smallest of margins and adding a top-tier netminder might be the thing that gets them back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The team has backup Alex Lyon signed next year to a very reasonable $900K, but likely can’t count on him to duplicate his 44-game workload from this past season.
  • Elliotte Friedman reported today on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the rights to Hurricanes forward Jake Guentzel are available for a mid-round pick. Friedman tells his audience that Carolina has made it known to other teams that the 29-year-old’s signing rights are available and adds that there will be a ton of interest. It was reported earlier this week that Guentzel was likely to test free agency and it makes sense for the Hurricanes to pivot and try to recoup an asset after dealing Michael Bunting, three prospects, and a second-round pick to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline to acquire Guentzel.

Updates On Three Detroit Free Agents

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With plenty of news coverage surrounding free agency this time of year, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Required) spoke to a trio of players expected to hit free agency in the upcoming weeks for the Detroit Red Wings and where things currently stand with each. LeBrun notes that all three of Lucas Raymond, David Perron, Patrick Kane, and their respective agents are set to meet with General Manager of the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, at some point this week.

As the only restricted free agent of the players mentioned, Raymond does not have the same bargaining rights as Perron and Kane, as he is still unable to file for arbitration, let alone hit the open market. Having managed a 14-goal and 13-assist jump on his scoring from the 2022-23 NHL season, Raymond could have earned himself a long-term deal with Detroit this summer. However, considering how the contract negotiations played out between Yzerman and captain Dylan Larkin last year, the savvy General Manager will stay prudent with his available cap space. Regardless of Raymond taking a bridge or max-term contract, his cap hit should take a decent chunk out of the Red Wings’ cap for next season.

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