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Red Wings: Fixing the Depth in Free Agency

By Matthew Kendziuk |
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning works the draft floor during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning works the draft floor during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at Staples Center on June 25, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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The Red Wings have a new bench boss in Derek Lalonde. Lalonde has a young talented core and a prospect pool to work with in his opportunity as an NHL head coach.

While the Red Wings are stocked with young talent, the team lacks depth. While Steve Yzerman has done an excellent job of bringing in different players to protect and teach the organizations young players to be professionals; it is time to bring in difference makers. This year’s free agent market boasts a plethora of high-end talent like Johnny Gaudreau, Nazem Kadri, Evgeni Malkin, and John Klingberg to name a few.

The next phase of the “Yzerplan” is ready to commence. Adding players that can score to enhance the production of Raymond, Larkin, and Bertuzzi should be a priority as well as adding depth pieces around the line-up to propel the team to the next level.

The Red Wings of old were the framework for building a consistent playoff contender. During their extraordinary playoff streak, they ran four lines. It is not surprise that as we watched Tampa Bay make deals the last few seasons to build their depth after drafting most of their top-six.

Let’s take a look at some potential signings that can propel the Red Wings into the playoffs next season.

The Stanley Cup. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Stanley Cup. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Red Wings Could Kill Two-Birds with One Stone

What better piece to add than a Stanley Cup Champion? There is an option on the market that will make the team instantly better and those around him better, enter Nazem Kadri.

While Colorado dealt with injuries during the regular season, it was Kadri who drove the bus.  After averaging over 1.2 points per game this past season, a veteran of over 700 NHL games, and putting up career best in assists and points, there is more to prove. Kadri is living up to his 7th overall selection in 2009. The Wings have the cap space to land Kadri and could use his skillset and grit to reclaim Hockeytown, USA.

Kadri will command a contract north of 8 million AAV. Depending on the length, he is worth it. He is a player that is ready to break away from the shadows and be the man. He is a capable 20-goal scorer that has broken the 30-goal threshold multiple times in his career.

Projected Stats- 37 Goals- 92 Points

Projected Line- Vrana-Kadri-Zadina & Power Play 1

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings /

The Red Wings New Forecheck, Backcheck, Trocheck

Our other target should be Vincent Trocheck. It is time for him to return to his “hockey home”. Trocheck grew up playing his youth hockey for Little Ceasars and his junior hockey for the Saginaw Spirit- both located in Michigan. He has shown ability to put up points in Florida and be solid defensively in Carolina while still contributing in on the offense.

Trocheck is a player that has been able to be a constant .5 points per game player in his career and has four 20-goal seasons including a 30-goal season. He showed the most promise in Florida when he was playing first-line minutes in the 2017-2018 campaign. He stormed back to his potential this season with the Hurricanes. He learned how to contribute at a high level in a top-9 role, which is an extremely rare attribute.

Projected Stats- 24 Goals- 61 Points

Projected Line- Suter-Trocheck-Rasmussen & Power Play 2

Nikita Zadorov. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Nikita Zadorov. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Breaking the Hinges- Zadorov, Cole and Gudbranson add Grit & Toughness

While young defenseman like Moritz Seider, Filip Hronek, and Simon Edvinsson give promise to an outstanding back-end, there are obvious and gaping holes in the defense. The team needs grit and stability to pair with their young defense. Three names that come to mind that can help bridge the gap, show toughness, and give stability are Ian Cole, Nikita Zadorov, and Erik Gudbranson. Each player can protect the front of the net.

That was an area that had no consequences for opposing forwards’ last season. If anyone one of the three are signed, the opposition will need to keep their head up. This will give the talented youngsters more time and space to make plays and develop appropriately. Each player has had experiences on rebuilding teams and playoff contenders making them great assets for the transition, they know good pro behavior.

Their ability to kill penalties will give rest to Seider and Hronek from feeling that they need to do everything. They will not show up on the scoresheet in the offensive categories, but the team will benefit from their ability to keep the opposition at bay.

Must Read. Breaking Down the Top-10 Potential Targets this Off-season. light

Look for Seider and Hronek to up their production and the team goals against to drop significantly with these potential additions.

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