Red Wings Weekly Review: Now it’s on to Free Agency

The Detroit Red Wings were extremely busy from Thursday making trades and signing restricted free agents to then filling the pipeline with new prospects on Friday and Saturday. Detroit addressed some major needs–especially with the drafting of goaltender Sebastian Cossa. But now attention shifts off of the draft and into free agency.

There won’t be much rest now for general manager Steve Yzerman as he has to sort out who he’s bringing back and who they might be targeting as free agency opens up on Wednesday.

Before the hockey world can even get there, buyouts could still happen and trade are purportedly going to be on the uptick. This all favors Detroit as it stands to have significant cap space available, even after deciding who to bring back while inking its restricted free agents to deals.

A busy week of hockey transactions is ahead and as Yzerman continues to round the roster, it will be  interesting to see who stays and who doesn’t.

The Present and Future Roster Continue to take Shape

Much of the Red Wings draft showed a pivot in thinking as Yzerman using draft capital to trade up was the first example of this to get assets he valued.

The Red Wings started in already, re-signing Marc Staal to a one-year extension on Sunday. This shores up the top six defenseman–unless Yzerman decides to buy out Danny DeKeyser but at this point, he only has one year remaining before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Yzerman himself said that there’s still contracts to sign and that will happen throughout the next few days if not a bit beyond for the restricted free agents. Both Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana are the more notable forwards still without a contract.  Yzerman did shed more light on his plans, saying that Lucas Raymond could suit up in Detroit along with Jonatan Berggren if they both have a good camp and preseason:

"If we were to carry 13 forwards, not including our own free agents, I have three spots up front. That includes are own guys. You know what–the other option is we don’t fill those spots and we see how Jonatan Berggren does–we see how Lucas Raymond does and any of the other guys for that matter."

That certainly makes for some interesting things to watch for during the preseason. Another thing to keep an eye out for would be buyouts from other teams or potential trades to get some cap squeezed teams some help. Tyler Johnson could be an option with Yzerman knowing him from his days in Tampa while also having only three years remaining on his contract. That coincides nicely with when many believe will be the Red Wings being a playoff team again.

And then there’s always Ken Holland. He’s stuck with James Neal and has been blasted by the fans and the Edmonton media:

The Edmonton media and fanbase don’t hold back. And Holland has to be feeling pressure as he’s continued to make the same curious decisions that put the Wings where they are currently digging out of now. Maybe Yzerman can take Neal on for a pick or two? Neal’s only on the books for two seasons more and with a lot of money coming off next season, it could be another way for Yzerman to grab more picks for what is shaping up to be a dynamite draft class in 2022.

Red Wings Will Have Another Busy Week

Between signing free agents and locking up their own players still needing contracts, Yzerman and the Red Wings will be plenty busy for another week. While there’s significant reason to make sure they can get into the top 3 in terms of draft position next season, things are definitely looking like they’ll take another step forward with the roster as more acquisitions, or signings continue to happen.