Could it be playoff magic in the Motor City in 2025? I’m feeling optimistic about the Red Wings chances. But if they want to forge a postseason berth, then the Wings have got to make the most of this opportunity, and that means shedding some bad contracts.
While trade rumors are already swirling around players like Vladimir Tarasenko, moving him alone won’t be enough. No, this is the opportune time to get rid of a few bad contracts that have been plaguing this team both in the short and long term.
None of the players listed below have given the Red Wings much value, so neither the fans nor the organization will miss them. I’d be willing to go so far and say fans would be glad to dump them onto an irrelevant team like the San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks.
So, who shouldn’t last in Detroit for another month? Here are three names to look out for.
Justin Holl
Justin Holl’s $3.4 million AAV may not be a steep contract, but what has he really given the Wings? He’s basically been a seventh blueliner barring injuries, and he’s currently averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game.
He hasn’t been a major piece of Derek Lalonde’s puzzle, and that also appears to be the case regarding Todd McLellan. Even with the Red Wings on the rise, Holl’s still not on the ice for a ton of goals, evidenced by his minus-7 rating.
Throughout his short career in Detroit, he’s been on the right side of the goal-scoring landscape just 50 times in 85 games at even strength. And while the Wings have allowed just 51 goals when he’s out there, 30 of them have occurred this season. That said, it’s time to do away with Holl.
Erik Gustafsson
Some will scoff at this one, because what’s an AAV of $2 million, right? For me, it’s more about Erik Gustafsson as a disappointing player more than anything else. Gustafsson wasn’t someone I thought would be a viable replacement for Shayne Gostisbehere, but he’d be decent, right?
Apparently, Gustafsson can’t even do that, as he now has just 13 points and two goals in 47 appearances with the Wings. Gustafsson wasn’t all-world last season with the New York Rangers, where he put six pucks into the net and garnered 31 points, but he was also on a team loaded with stars, so that would naturally steal some of his thunder.
This season, he joined a Red Wings team that was high-octane last season but needed a stopgap for Gostisbehere. Gustafsson should’ve filled the role with admirable play, and it hasn’t happened.
Ville Husso
Yeah, Ville Husso has been the poster child for articles like these for a while now, yet he’s still in the system. And the last I checked, he’s a buried cap casualty. If there’s any light at the end of the tunnel, it’s that Husso won’t be an issue much longer regardless, but it wouldn’t hurt to dump what’s left of his contract elsewhere and get something in return.
Plus, Husso’s been a viable goaltender in this league before, so a team with little to no relevance would see some benefit here by giving him a trial run. Yeah, the Wings would need to give up more than just Husso to pry away a decent player from a non-contender, like I said, it doesn’t hurt to send him away a little earlier than anticipated.