Detroit Red Wings need to let Adam Erne walk in free agency

The Detroit Red Wings need to move on from Adam Erne. As the summer gets in full swing and free agency creeps closer. The Red Wings will have to decide which players on expiring deals come back and which hit the road.

One of the things that Detroit Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman needs to do is look back on Erne and his time in Detroit. He was someone that Yzerman traded for when he got to Detroit.

Initially, it seemed like a “Stevie’s going to get his guys” type of move. Though, the new home and new organization did not really do him any favors. Erne was pretty inconsistent offensively during his time in Detroit.

While the Red Wings did get 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in just 45 games played during the 2020-21 COVID-19 shortened season. But other than that, the offensive numbers have not been much better than a bottom-six forward.

Detroit Red Wings need to move on from Adam Erne.

Now, do not get it twisted, I was not expecting Erne to show up in Detroit and morph into a top-six forward, but the Red Wings must have been expecting more from him. Erne is an unrestricted free agent this off-season, and Yzerman needs to look the other way.

Erne made $2.1 million last season and the year before on a two-year, $4.2 million extension. The Red Wings could efficiently allocate that money elsewhere. As hinted at, re-signing Alex Chiasson as a bottom-six addition seems like the play.

Chiasson would be cheaper, and with players like Elmer Söderblom trying to slot into the bottom six this year, Erne is someone the team can walk away from. While any draft season trades that bring in new faces or early free-agent signings in July could change things, the team needs to look the other way.

There is not much to like about bringing back Erne. He scored eight goals and managed ten assists for just 18 total points over 61 games played. For the Red Wings, they have to be expecting to find better production elsewhere.

At a minimum, there should be hope for a better quality of play from other players, whether via the free agent market or just prospects rising from within. As the Red Wings put together the rest of their plans for this summer, they should omit any thoughts of re-signing Erne.