Red Wings Roundtable: What’s Been the Biggest Positive?
By Nate Brown
Bob Heyrman – Site Expert – Detroit Jock City
At this point of the season, I have a couple of positive things we should take away from what mostly feels like another wretched Detroit Red Wings regular season.
General Manager Steve Yzerman went out and signed veteran forward Bobby Ryan to a cheap one-year deal worth $1-million. Yzerman certainly understood he’d be a reclamation project, but if he’d be able to ‘get right, could be flipped at the trade deadline for future assets. Ryan has achieved 13 points in 28 contests including six goals so far in 2021 and should draw some interest from a playoff team looking to add a third-line depth scorer for next to nothing heading into the playoffs.
Another bright spot in ’21 has been netminder Jonathan Bernier. Bernier is in a contract year and may find himself in trade talks leading up to the trade deadline as either a backup or starter if an injury occurs.
Bernier owns a record of 8-6, which seems remarkable knowing how poorly the Detroit Red Wings have performed as a whole. Bernier’s 2.78 GAA won’t stand out, but his .918% save percentage proves he can be a valuable asset down the stretch. It’s difficult to hold onto a soon-to-be 33-year old goaltender knowing the organization is still a few years away from contending, but Bernier will be a candidate to be re-signed at seasons’ end on a short-term deal.