3 players the Detroit Red Wings should re-sign this summer
By Ben Heydt
After loading up with veteran talent during the offseason free agency period last year, the Detroit Red Wings are again faced with difficult decisions regarding who on the current roster should be retained and whom they will decide to cut ties with.
There are a handful of both UFAs and RFAs that will require attention from the front office to determine their future with the organization moving forward into the 2023-2024 season and beyond. There are three potential roster players that the Red Wings should strongly consider offering contracts. Let’s take a look.
The Detroit Red Wings should re-sign Pius Suter.
When Pius Suter signed with Detroit two seasons ago, he was put into a position where he was asked to play second-line center minutes on a team with very little depth and talent. I think it is fair to say that he was asked to do too much for a player of his caliber.
Even still, he filled in admirably and, at times, was put up against opposing teams’ top lines, having to attempt to play a shutdown role. This season his role has changed, and he has not been asked to play as many minutes, and has been pushed further down the lineup by Lalonde since being given extra tools to play with in free agency, with the likes of Andrew Copp, David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik, etc. All that to say, Suter has been one of the few consistent pieces in the lineup with his play down the stretch as of late.
Suter has totaled 21 points, including 13 goals over 69 games this season while averaging under 14 minutes of ice time per game.
He can be a valuable asset on the penalty kill and, when not asked to play significant minutes against teams’ top talents, can contribute to the score sheet when needed. Could he be a top free-agent target that other organizations recognize as a good depth piece? There could be a slight bidding war for his services, but he still should not price himself out of the Detroit Red Wings wallet.