Red Wings Rumors

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Detroit Red Wings

September 23, 2023 at 10:41 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Cap Hit: $78,343,473 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jonatan Berggren (one year, $925K)
F Lucas Raymond (one year, $925K)
D Moritz Seider (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Raymond: $2.5MM
Seider: $850K
Total: $3.35MM

Raymond wasn’t able to match his rookie-season output that saw him finish fourth in Calder Trophy voting but he still did well, notching 45 points in 74 games. Both sides certainly believe he has more in the tank than that which makes him a long-term extension candidate. At this point, the magic number might have to start with a seven for that to happen. A bridge agreement would be closer to the $4MM range. Berggren had a solid rookie showing last season but with the extra depth the Red Wings added up front, he will be hard-pressed to command a higher spot on the depth chart. Accordingly, he’s likely heading for the short-term second contract; if he can stay around the 30-point mark, that deal should check in around double his current price tag.

Seider also didn’t live up to the expectations of his rookie campaign in 2021-22, a performance that saw him win Rookie of the Year. But as far as sophomore seasons go, his was still pretty good. The sixth-overall pick in 2019 is their undisputed number one defenseman and there’s little reason to think that the best isn’t yet to come. With that in mind, it would make sense for GM Steve Yzerman to zero in on a long-term second contract. The eight-year, $64.4MM extension that Jake Sanderson signed with Ottawa recently figures to be the starting point in negotiations. From the bonus perspective, Seider could reach all four of his ‘A’ bonuses (Raymond has four worth this amount as part of his deal as well) but Detroit has ample space to absorb that on their books this season.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

F Christian Fischer ($1.125MM, UFA)
D Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.125MM, UFA)
F David Perron ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Michael Rasmussen ($1.46MM, RFA)
G James Reimer ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Daniel Sprong ($2MM, UFA)
F Joe Veleno ($825K, RFA)

Perron typically hadn’t had much success outside of St. Louis but changed that last year, continuing his streak of recording at least 55 points in a season for the fourth year in a row. Another season like that would seemingly boost his value but he’ll be 36 at that time and pricey multi-year deals are hard to come by at that age. Sprong was non-tendered for the second straight summer to avoid salary arbitration despite a breakout performance that saw him pass 20 goals and 20 assists for the first time. If he can repeat that this season, he could double this price tag a year from now.

Rasmussen battled injuries last year but still hit a new benchmark in points. His development has been slower but steady as they look to turn him into a second-liner. That might not happen this season but he’s still setting himself up for an AAV past the $2MM mark if he can repeat last year’s output. Fischer came over in unrestricted free agency after being non-tendered by Arizona and will need to show that last season’s offensive improvement (27 points) is repeatable to avoid being typecast into a fourth-line role. Veleno opted for a one-year lower-cost bridge agreement in the hopes of locking down a bigger role which would set him up for a better pay day next summer. Either way, he’ll be arbitration-eligible which will help his cause.

Gostisbehere’s case is an interesting one. Offensively, he produces at a rate that’s well above average but he gives a good chunk of it back at the defensive end. His situation reminds me of Tyson Barrie, a proven offensive producer but someone who struggles to generate long-term contracts on the open market. Playing time will be harder to come by in Detroit which should lower his output (and value) next summer. A multi-year deal starting with a three might be his best option next summer.

Reimer comes over in free agency from San Jose coming off by far the worst season of his career. On what should be a better team, a rebound is expected but if it’s not a significant one, his market value might take another tumble at the age of 36 next summer.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Robby Fabbri ($4MM, UFA)
G Ville Husso ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Klim Kostin ($2MM, RFA)
D Olli Maatta ($3MM, UFA)
D Jeff Petry ($2.344MM, UFA)*

*-Montreal is retaining $2.344MM per season; Pittsburgh is retaining $1.563MM per season.

Fabbri’s contract seemed like a reach when he signed it in 2021. When healthy, he plays like a $4MM player but he just can’t stay healthy. He will need to shed that label to have any chance of a deal near this price point in 2025. Kostin came over in an odd trade with Edmonton as one player was bought out and Kostin himself was non-tendered to avoid arbitration. They got this deal done soon after, a nice improvement for someone who cleared waivers in training camp last season. Detroit is clearly banking on Kostin having an ability to improve upon last season’s production and if he can, they’ll have an intriguing power forward on their hands. With those, the price tag usually only goes up from there.

Maatta’s decision to sign with Detroit last summer proved wise as he earned himself this in-season extension to keep him around longer. He’s not at the level he was in his rookie year but can still play in the top four when needed and kill penalties. This seems a bit above market but not by much. Petry is coming off a down year in Pittsburgh but still should serve as a capable replacement for Filip Hronek behind Seider on the right side of the depth chart. He’ll be turning 38 soon into his next deal and it’s fair to say that it will be a lot lower than his base $6.25MM AAV.

Husso was an interesting pickup by Yzerman last summer. Detroit traded for his negotiation rights which is something we don’t see a lot of nowadays. Husso then received a pretty sizable contract for someone with just 53 career NHL starts under his belt. The results in his first season were mixed. There were flashes where Husso looked like a capable starter (or at least a strong-side platoon option) and others where he struggled mightily. Now with a full season under his belt, it will be interesting to see if he can improve and help lead Detroit into a push for the playoffs. If that happens, he could set himself up for a small raise in 2025 but if not, he’ll drop more into the category of a true platoon goalie whose market value is about a million less than his current price tag.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Ben Chiarot ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($3.4MM, UFA)
D Jake Walman ($3.4MM, UFA)

Chiarot received one of the bigger deals for a blueliner last summer but he struggled in his first season despite playing a similar role to the one he had some success with in Montreal. With a deeper back end now, it’s possible that a lesser role might make Chiarot a better fit this season. Walman is still relatively unproven as last season was his first where he played more than 51 games. But he showed enough to give the Red Wings some enthusiasm to think there’s more still to come. If that’s the case, this could be a bargain. If not, it might wind up a bit above market value as well. Holl’s contract looks above market value already after he struggled in Toronto last season to the point where he was scratched at times in the playoffs. A right-shot defender (which always carries extra value), he can hold down a lesser role on this back end but this is a high price for a third-pairing player.

Signed Through 2026-27 Or Longer

F J.T. Compher ($5.1MM through 2027-28)
F Andrew Copp ($5.625MM through 2026-27)
F Alex DeBrincat ($7.875MM through 2026-27)
F Dylan Larkin ($8.7MM through 2030-31)

It took longer than expected but Larkin eventually got a deal done last season after some comparable deals ultimately helped his price range in place. He doesn’t quite produce like a true top center but does enough in that role that he should provide a good return as long as he remains their top middleman. DeBrincat comes over following a down year in Ottawa but brings a much-needed scoring threat to Detroit’s top line. He didn’t get the long-term, big-money deal he was seeking but this is a reasonable compromise, one that gives the Red Wings a boost now but allows DeBrincat to take a shot at free agency at age 30 where he could look to secure a raise and another long-term pact at that time.

Detroit’s lack of depth down the middle led them to take a gamble on Copp last summer following a breakout year. Historically, he has produced more like a third-liner and he reverted back to that last season. While he brings value as a strong defensive player, it’s fair to say they’re looking for more. In fact, his struggles likely contributed to Yzerman making a similar gamble on Compher, a player who had a breakout year with Colorado last season but has been more of a third-liner previously. He showed he could handle big minutes with the Avs in 2022-23, a team that battled significant injuries but playing time will be harder to come by here. This contract is certainly a risk on Detroit’s end.

Buyouts

F Justin Abdelkader ($1.056MM through 2025-26)
F Kailer Yamamoto ($433K in 2023-24, $533K in 2024-25)

Retained Salary Transactions

D Jakub Vrana ($2.625MM in 2023-24)

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Rasmussen (entry-level deals are excluded from consideration)
Worst Value: Copp

Looking Ahead

Despite quite the spending spree by Yzerman this summer, cap space isn’t an issue for Detroit which is well-positioned to absorb the bonuses that Raymond and Seider are likely to hit. If they’re in a position to add at the trade deadline, they should be a team to keep an eye on as they can take on some contracts and have a decent prospect pool to deal from.

While the Red Wings will have around 10 roster spots to fill next summer, they should have around $30MM to work with to fill them, putting them in a good position to take a swing at adding another core piece. Longer-term, they’re similarly well-positioned as a lot of their signings have been medium-term fillers. It has been a very slow build in Detroit but more spending sprees to build their roster should be on the horizon.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Artem Anisimov, Michael Hutchinson To PTOs

September 19, 2023 at 5:29 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings have signed veteran center Artem Anisimov and netminder Michael Hutchinson to PTOs, according to CapFriendly. The two former full-time NHLers will now look to earn prospective two-way deals in Hockeytown.

Anisimov, 35, hasn’t suited up in an NHL game since 2020-21 as a member of the Ottawa Senators. The Russian forward departed for the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on a one-year deal in 2021-22 before attempting an NHL comeback by signing a PTO with the Philadelphia Flyers last September. While he looked to be on his way to earning a contract, an injury during preseason sidelined him and kept him from earning a deal. Once healthy in November, he signed an AHL tryout with the team’s affiliate in Lehigh Valley before earning a full-fledged deal for the rest of the season. He finished the campaign with 19 goals, 17 assists and 36 points in 55 games.

He could look to earn a similar top-six role for Detroit’s minor-league club in Grand Rapids, replacing the void left by free-agent center Danny O’Regan. The path to an NHL roster spot for Anisimov is slim after two years away from the game’s top level, plus a roster crunch of younger Red Wings forwards that includes Jonatan Berggren, Marco Kasper, Elmer Soderblom, and Joe Veleno, among others.

Hutchinson, 33, played 16 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, his most in a single NHL season since splitting 2019-20 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. His days as a full-time tandem netminder with the Winnipeg Jets in the mid-2010s are long gone. He’s posted a save percentage below .900 in back-to-back AHL seasons and put up a far below-average .877 save percentage and 4.29 goals-against average with Columbus, although a good portion of that could be attributed to the team’s patchwork defense.

Nonetheless, it’s debatable whether or not Hutchinson is even an AHL starter at this stage in his career, although that’s not a role he’d be expected to fill anyway after Detroit signed Alex Lyon to fill that role in Grand Rapids earlier this summer. He’s likely an insurance option to become Grand Rapids’ backup if 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa, who had a tough showing in Detroit’s rookie tournament games last week, needs another season in the ECHL with Toledo.

Red Wings Activate Michael Rasmussen

September 19, 2023 at 10:00 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

CapFriendly has reported that the Vancouver Canucks have officially activated veteran forward Tanner Pearson off of long-term injured reserve. In their post on X, CapFriendly writes: “This is significant because it means that he is no longer considered an LTI candidate, and tentatively leaves the club $1,709,167 over the cap” even if they place defenseman Tucker Poolman on LTIR.

The team could still be cap compliant to start the season, but to do so they would need to carry fewer than the maximum of 23 players on their active roster. Pearson, 31, is making $3.25MM against the cap and played just 14 games last season, scoring five points.

Some more injury notes from across the NHL:

The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski is reporting that Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie left the prospects game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an apparent injury. The 2022 ninth-overall pick left the ice in pain and did not return to the game. The Sabres have said that Savoie may miss time at the start of camp with what is being described as an upper body injury.
CapFriendly has also reported that the Detroit Red Wings have now officially activated forward Michael Rasmussen off of injured reserve. Rasmussen had been on injured reserve since March 2nd, meaning he finished his 2022-23 season with just 56 games played. The hulking six-foot-six forward had something of a breakout year, though, scoring at a 15-goal, 42-point 82-game pace.

Prospect Injury Notes: Dyck, Mazur, Lombardi

September 15, 2023 at 4:21 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 5 Comments

NHL.com’s Mark Divver shared that Boston Bruins goaltending prospect Reid Dyck has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least four weeks. As a result, Dyck’s participation at the Bruins development camp will be limited to off-ice. The same is true for fellow goalie invite Derek Mullahy. This leaves Philip Svedeback and Hlib Artsatbanov as the on-ice duo for camp.

The Bruins drafted Dyck as an overage prospect in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Boston has only taken three other goalies in the draft since 2013: Daniel Vladar, Jeremy Swayman, and Svedback. Dyck has spent the last three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, where he’s posted a career .884 save percentage through 71 games. The 19-year-old goaltender will return for a final year of WHL service in the upcoming season, before fighting for a spot in the Bruins organization next summer.

Other injury updates:

The Detroit Red Wings announced a pair of updates, sharing first that Carter Mazur isn’t currently healthy. The 21-year-old was injured in the team’s first game in the rookie tournament and was attended to by the team’s medical staff. The injury has been acknowledged as a lower-body injury but there are no further updates as to what the injury is or a timetable for Mazur’s return. Detroit also shared that prospect Amadeus Lombardi’s absence was due to personal reasons and the player has returned to rookie camp. The Wings took Mazur in the third round of the 2021 Draft and Lombardi in the fourth round of 2022.

Latest On Alex DeBrincat

September 10, 2023 at 11:00 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 7 Comments

On paper, it seemed somewhat curious that Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat would forgo a likely highly lucrative contract extension with the Ottawa Senators in order to play elsewhere. But not long after DeBrincat concluded his season in Canada’s capital, it became clear that the 2022-23 campaign would be DeBrincat’s only one in Ottawa.

Yesterday, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch shed some light on why DeBrincat decided to push for an exit from the Senators, writing: “sources say [DeBrincat] didn’t like his role as a second-line winger” behind Senators captain and face of the franchise Brady Tkachuk.

It’s not difficult to see why, going into the 2022-23 season, DeBrincat may have expected to receive top-line billing in Ottawa. The Senators surrendered the seventh-overall pick alongside second and third-round selections to acquire DeBrincat, who was coming off of a 41-goal, 78-point season.

Those numbers exceeded Tkachuk’s from 2021-22 (30 goals, 67 points) by a fair margin, and it’s understandable that DeBrincat may have viewed himself as the best fit for the coveted left wing spot next to number-one center Tim Stützle.

That didn’t happen, though, and DeBrincat ended up falling behind Tkachuk both on the depth chart and in terms of production. Although DeBrincat actually averaged slightly higher ice time per game than Tkachuk, Tkachuk is the one who got the bulk of time next to Stützle (a breakout number-one center) on the team’s first line.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Stützle had DeBrincat as his left-wing running mate for a total of 97:49 TOI and had Tkachuk in that role for 915:25 TOI in total. The trio only played 30:58 TOI together.

Part of the success DeBrincat had in Chicago was due to the fact that he got to play next to one of the most talented offensive generators in recent NHL history, Patrick Kane. This isn’t to say that DeBrincat isn’t a capable offensive generator in his own right, (one doesn’t hit 40 goals multiple times in a career without being an elite talent in his own right) just to note that DeBrincat is clearly at his best when his lethal finishing abilities are fed into by a strong playmaking partner.

Without someone of those capabilities to play next to full-time, DeBrincat’s production declined, and he scored 27 goals and 66 points. With Josh Norris locked in as the Senators’ second-line center thanks to a $7.95MM AAV contract extension through 2029-30, DeBrincat was staring down a future playing next to Norris were he to sign a long-term extension in Ottawa.

Norris is a quality player who scored 35 goals in 2021-22, but not someone regarded as a high-end playmaker and passer. With Tkachuk seemingly untouchable as Stützle’s running mate and the Senators’ first-line left winger, it’s unsurprising that DeBrincat began to more heavily consider a future elsewhere.

Detroit is where DeBrincat’s future, at least for the next few seasons, lies. There doesn’t appear to be a top-end playmaker on the Red Wings’ roster who can compare to Stützle, but captain Dylan Larkin (79 points last season) isn’t too far behind. But looking ahead to training camp and the preseason, it’s imperative that the Red Wings find a way to make a DeBrincat – Larkin pairing work.

Neither Andrew Copp or J.T. Compher profile as the type of play-driving passer that DeBrincat has excelled with in the past, so for DeBrincat to be able to reach the heights in Detroit that he reached in Chicago, he’ll likely need what he couldn’t have in Ottawa: a firm grip on the first-line left winger job next to his team’s number-one center.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Kasper Won't Return To SHL, Edvinsson Won't Be Ready For Training Camp

September 9, 2023 at 9:27 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper spent most of last season playing with Rogle in Sweden before making the trek to North America once his campaign over there came to an end. That won’t be the case this season, however, as the forward told Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that he will report to AHL Grand Rapids if he doesn’t earn a spot with Detroit this fall. Kasper was the eighth overall pick last year and had eight goals and 15 assists in 52 games in the SHL before making his NHL debut with Detroit in early April. The Red Wings have brought in several forwards this summer to reshape their group so it’s quite possible that Kasper will have to bide his time in the minors this season.

Still with the Red Wings, defenseman Simon Edvinsson will not be ready to participate in training camp as he continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery, relays Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now. However, he should be cleared by the time the regular season starts. The 20-year-old spent most of last season in Grand Rapids, notching five goals and 22 assists in 52 games. The 2021 sixth-overall pick also got into nine games with Detroit where he tallied his first two NHL goals. With Edvinsson not being available for camp, it seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for the Griffins at least to start the season.

Analyzing Detroit’s Options At Defense

September 5, 2023 at 3:32 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 5 Comments

Much like they did last summer, the Detroit Red Wings put some money into their defensive core in an attempt to get this team back into the postseason. In free agency, the organization brought in Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl and acquired Jeff Petry at a discount a few months later in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

According to CapFriendly, the team currently projects to have eight defensemen on their opening night roster, with prospects Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder waiting in the wings. Edvinsson won’t be ready for the beginning of the season due to an offseason shoulder surgery, but the Red Wings are getting into a territory where they will have to thin out their defensive core at some point.

In the most likely scenario, the team will start with a top pairing of Jake Walman and Moritz Seider, a duo that finished the 2022-23 season on a high note. The second defensive pair will probably feature Gostisbehere and Petry, and the final pair will consist of Holl and Olli Maatta. Aside from Seider, it does not scream of a defensive unit well-built to get this team into the playoffs, but a strong showing from key players could conceivably turn the tide.

Unfortunately for the team, after committing to a four-year, $19MM contract with him last offseason, it does not appear that Ben Chiarot will crack the opening night lineup for this team. Last season, Detroit made an attempt to pair Chiarot with Seider on the top defensive pairing, an experiment that would not work out well for the club. Although a $4.75MM cap hit is an expensive sunk cost for most teams to eat, the Red Wings’ available cap space makes it much more palatable.

Last season, in his first year wearing the ’Winged Wheel’, Chiarot would score five goals and 14 assists in 76 games played, posting a horrendous -31 rating. Given the lack of depth on the roster, Chariot was able to average more than 20 minutes of ice time per night, which does not appear to be a scenario that Detroit can let happen again.

Complicating the issue with Chiarot is that last year, the Red Wings dolled out a three-year extension for Walman, a two-year extension for Maatta, and gave Holl a three-year contract this offseason. Assuming that the team does ink Seider to a long-term extension next summer, that will give Detroit six defensemen signed until the 2024-25 NHL season. In all likelihood, the team will sit Chiarot for much of this year, use a buyout next offseason, and only be on the hook for an average of $1.58MM the next four seasons.

Next, if the team allows Gostisbehere to walk at the conclusion of his one-year deal, this should create a solid opening for Edvinsson and Wallinder to make the opening night lineup for the 2024-25 NHL season, giving the team some more flexibility moving forward.

At that time, the team could create a projected solid long-term top duo of Edvinsson and Seider, allowing Wallinder to play with Petry for one year before his contract expires, and carry an above-average bottom-pairing of Walman and Holl. It is only conjecture at this point, but there may be a pathway to an impressive defensive core, even after several confusing signings from General Manager Steve Yzerman over the last two summers.

Summer Synopsis: Detroit Red Wings

September 2, 2023 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 1 Comment

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t been back to the playoffs since their historic streak ended in 2017, but GM Steve Yzerman, head coach Derek Lalonde, and the whole Red Wings organization have plans on ending that drought this year. Despite the highly competitive nature of the Atlantic division, the Red Wings have added major talent to their roster over the last two years and are hoping to reach the playoffs next season on the back of that veteran talent combined with some intriguing young stars. But in a division that has sent a finalist to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons, will that be possible?

Draft

1-9: F Nate Danielson, Brandon (WHL)
1-16: D Axel Sandin-Pellika, Skellefteå (SHL)
2-41: G Trey Augustine, USNTDP (USHL)
2-42: D Andrew Gibson, Soo (OHL)
2-47: D Brady Cleveland, USNTDP (USHL)
3-73: F Noah Dower-Nilsson, Frölunda (J20)
4-117: D Larry Keenan, Culver Academy (USHS)
5-137: D Jack Phelan, Sioux Falls (USHL)
5-147: F Kevin Bicker, Mannheim (GER U20)
6-169: G Rudy Guimond, Taft (USHS)
7-201: F Emmitt Finnie, Kamloops (WHL)

The Red Wings have invested heavily in centers in recent years, both in free agency and at the draft table. They signed Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher to deals north of $5MM AAV and invested top-ten picks in Austrian center Marco Kasper and Canadian pivot Nate Danielson. Danielson is a professional two-way center who had a strong draft year for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is widely projected as a future second or third-line center.

Sandin-Pellika played pro hockey in his draft year for Skellefteå and was considered one of the higher-upside blueliners in his class, especially offensively. On day two, the Red Wings reached into their backyard grabbing a Michigan State commit and potential goalie of the future in Augustine as well as Cleveland, a stay-at-home blueliner. Keenan, the team’s fourth-round pick, was drafted straight out of high school hockey but has tantalizing physical tools.

Trade Acquisitions

F Alex DeBrincat (from Ottawa)
D Jeff Petry (from Montreal)
F Klim Kostin (from Edmonton)

The centerpiece of Yzerman’s offseason is the acquisition of DeBrincat from the Senators, a division rival.

Surrendering Dominik Kubalik and a first-round pick to get the deal done, Yzerman managed to add a two-time 40-goal scorer who happens to be right in the thick of his prime.

DeBrincat won’t turn 26 until December and is locked into a $7.875MM AAV contract through 2026-27.

Even if DeBrincat plays more as he did in Ottawa than how he played next to Patrick Kane on the Chicago Blackhawks, the Red Wings will still have added a 66-point scorer into their top six, which will do wonders to improve the production of other members of their top-six, such as Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Andrew Copp, for example.

Seeing as they didn’t have to commit a huge amount of term to DeBrincat, this trade has a chance to be an absolute grand slam for Yzerman. The acquisition of Petry adds a notably less flashy player to the Red Wings lineup but a nonetheless effective one. Petry isn’t what he once was now that he’s turning 36 years old, but the Ann Arbor, Michigan native can still hold his own in a top-four and contributed 31 points in just 61 games last season. He’s undeniably worth the $2.34MM cap hit he’s owed for the next two years.

Kostin is the lowest-profile addition of this trio but his acquisition via trade gives the Red Wings an intriguing name to plug into their bottom-six. Kostin’s NHL career looked to be on life support before a trade to the Oilers sparked a run of strong performances for the 2017 first-round pick. Kostin plays a powerful game and should improve the Red Wings’ bottom-six and overall forward depth.

Key UFA Signings

F J.T. Compher (five years, $25.5MM)
D Justin Holl (three years, $10.2MM)
D Shayne Gostisbehere (one year, $4.125MM)
F Daniel Sprong (one-year, $2MM)
G Alex Lyon (two-years, $1.8MM)
G James Reimer (one year, $1.5MM)
F Christian Fischer (one year, $1.125MM)

When looking at most of the Red Wings’ free agent signings, a clear strategy emerges. Detroit chose to invest heavily in improving their defense, goaltending depth, and bottom-six forwards.

Compher is the outlier to that, as he’s expected to play in a prominent middle-six center role. He had a breakout 2022-23, scoring 17 goals and 52 points, but seeing as that’s the outlier number so far in his career it’s fair to question whether he’ll be able to repeat that kind of offensive performance.

If he can’t, he still has a solid two-way game to provide a floor to the level of value he provides, which is useful. But unless he can reach 50 points in Detroit $5.1MM on a five-year term will look like a real expensive price to pay for a solid if generally unremarkable middle-six center.

While Holl’s mistakes drew some harsh criticism at times during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has averaged at least 20 minutes per night in each of the last three seasons.

A $3.4MM price tag with a three-year term is a high price to pay for what Holl provides, to be sure, but there is some context that could explain why Yzerman made this signing. The Red Wings’ right-shot defensive depth took a major hit with the trade of Filip Hronek to Vancouver, so adding Holl gives Lalonde an experienced name to fill that void.

It’s important for a GM to give capable players to his coach so that the coach can succeed, so now it’ll be up to Lalonde to deploy Holl in ways that will help Holl look good, not for more than he’s capable of as many believe Holl was in Toronto.

In Gostisbehere, the Red Wings add a productive offensive defenseman who resurrected his career on the Arizona Coyotes and should serve as the team’s most reliable offensive threat from the blueline outside their top pairing.

Up front, the Red Wings added Sprong, a player who scored 21 goals and 46 points from largely fourth-line minutes in Seattle, and Fischer, who is an energetic bottom-six forward with some valuable leadership qualities. Sprong will help provide some offensive juice to the bottom six while Fischer will likely play in a more traditional fourth-line role.

In Lyon and Reimer, the Red Wings have made significant improvements to their goaltending depth. While Reimer was shaky, to say the least, last season, he does have an extensive track record of quality play in the NHL. Should he falter, Detroit now has Lyon to save the day, something he did with the Florida Panthers last season when his .914 save percentage in 15 games lifted them to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

These additions aren’t as flashy as the team’s addition of DeBrincat, to be sure, but they’re strategic investments in areas of the roster that were major weaknesses last season, even if in the case of Holl and Compher they came on the expensive side.

Key Departures

F Pius Suter (Vancouver, two years, $3.2MM)
F Filip Zadina (San Jose, one year, $1.1MM)
F Alex Chiasson (Boston, PTO)
G Magnus Hellberg (Pittsburgh, one year, $785k)
F Adam Erne (UFA)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (Pittsburgh, one year, $1.5MM)
D Robert Hagg (Anaheim, one year, $775k)

The biggest-name loss on this list is easily that of Zadina, the 2017 sixth-overall pick. Zadina never quite found his game in Detroit and ultimately gave the team very little in return for the significant asset they invested in him, save for a 28-game run in 2019-20 where he flashed some real promise and scored 15 points.

The most effective player Detroit is losing is Suter, 27, who scored 14 goals and 24 points last season. Detroit is undoubtedly upgrading at third-line center if Compher ends up playing in that role, although Suter did score 36 points in 2021-22 and Detroit could surely still find room for that kind of player. Suter just wasn’t able to find consistency in Detroit, and with the Red Wings making a serious playoff push they simply needed to find a more reliable player to fill the role Suter played, even if that player came at a far higher price tag.

Jettisoning Nedeljkovic and Hellberg to bring in Reimer and Lyon represents a full makeover of the Red Wings’ goaltending depth behind starter Ville Husso. Nedeljkovic arrived in Detroit with quite a bit of promise but his reliance on his athleticism was exposed behind the Red Wings’ porous defense, and he heads to Pittsburgh seeking greener pastures. Hellberg, 32, will join him and potentially take up a role as Pittsburgh’s number-three goalie.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Red Wings’ significant outlays this summer have left them in a tighter cap position than years past, but the flip side of that is that their roster is significantly improved as well. The Red Wings have paid high prices to get high-quality players in the door, but some of their most significant costs are yet to be determined. Both Raymond and Moritz Seider will need new contracts before next season, and those two players figure to be two of the most expensive Red Wings moving forward, with Seider holding the potential to receive a highly lucrative long-term deal as one of the top young blueliners in the NHL.

Key Questions

Who will be the Red Wings’ second-line center?: This question isn’t exactly the right one, as we know who will start the year as Detroit’s second-line center: either Copp or Compher. But the important question is who will end up claiming that role moving into the future, seeing as the Red Wings have two quality center prospects in their pipeline in Kasper and Danielson. Will Compher reward Yzerman’s faith and his $5.1MM price tag? Will Copp improve on a first year in Detroit that saw him score only nine goals? Or will both veterans falter as the team pivots towards Kasper or eventually Danielson as Dylan Larkin’s long-term understudy?

Who claims the backup goalie role?: A 475-game NHL veteran, Reimer is undoubtedly the front-runner here. But after posting an .890 save percentage last season, he’s vulnerable. Alex Lyon has largely been a third goalie throughout his pro career. Will that finally change this season in Detroit?

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Cameron Hillis To PTO

August 28, 2023 at 7:38 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 2 Comments

CapFriendly has announced that the Detroit Red Wings have reportedly signed center Cameron Hillis to a PTO. The Oshawa, Ontario native was non-tendered by the Chicago Blackhawks back in June and was unable to find a contract for the upcoming season. The 23-year-old was a Montreal Canadiens third-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft and looked poised to take the next step after he captained the Guelph Storm in his final season of OHL eligibility. Hillis posted 24 goals and 59 assists in 62 games during that final OHL run and appeared to be every bit the playmaker the Canadiens hoped he’d be.

However, once Hillis made the jump to professional hockey his undersized frame started to hinder his offensive ability. In Hillis’ first professional season in the AHL, he produced just a single goal in 18 games. The next year, 2021-22, Hillis made his NHL debut with the Canadiens but spent the lion’s share of his season in the AHL and ECHL. While Hillis posted nine points in 14 ECHL games, he continued to struggle to score at the AHL level as he posted just five goals and four assists with the Laval Rocket in 24 AHL games.

This past October Hillis was dealt by the Canadiens to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for another struggling prospect Nicolas Beaudin. The change of scenery did little to ignite Hillis’ game, and in fact, his offensive struggles became worse as he posted just two assists in 18 AHL games with the Rockford IceHogs. Hillis did find an offensive pulse in the ECHL with the Indy Fuel where he posted 14 goals and 36 assists in 45 games. Given his lack of AHL success, Chicago opted to cut ties and allow Hillis to walk this offseason.

The Detroit Red Wings have made significant additions to their forward group this offseason and have a bit of a logjam going into the season. Given that, and Hillis’ struggles at both the NHL and AHL level it is hard to see him obtaining an NHL contract with the Red Wings. However, he could find an AHL deal or even an ECHL contract that would allow him to try and re-capture some of the offensive flair he showed in the OHL.

Detroit Red Wings Announce Prospect Tournament Roster

August 24, 2023 at 2:19 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 6 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings have announced their roster for their first event of the 2023-24 league year – their annual prospect tournament held in Traverse City. On offense, they’ll have 2022 and 2023 top-ten picks suiting up in Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson, among others. 2021 first-round selection Sebastian Cossa will also participate between the pipes.

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