On day one of free agency, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has not been able to sign a star player, but has been hard at work filling out the depth needs on the Wings. Yzerman inked James van Riemsdyk on a one-year deal worth $1 million AAV.
Entering his 17th National Hockey League (NHL) season, van Riemsdyk is not the 30-goal scorer he once was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he had 24 goals in 2021-22 with the Philadelphia Flyers, the 36-year-old has seen his production decline with his age. He still scored 16 goals and 20 assists in 71 games last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Van Riemsdyk will not be asked to be on the top lines or lead a power play, though he has shown his ability to substitute in those spots admirably. The forward will mainly bring a veteran presence to the Detroit locker room and has shown to have some scoring left in the tank that will help down the lineup.
The signing looks even better when realizing that van Riemsdyk essentially replaces Vladimir Tarasenko’s spot on last year’s Red Wings
Despite having less talent around him in Columbus, playing in nine fewer games, and being a few years older, van Riemsdyk outperformed Tarasenko in 2024-25 with 36 points compared to Vlad’s 33. Van Riemsdyk is also about $3.75 million AAV cheaper than Tarasenko.
Although his on-ice production may not leap off the page, the off-ice impact van Riemsdyk had on the Blue Jackets last season was tremendous. Most notably, he had a positive mentorship role on future stars like Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli, which led to several Blue Jackets having career years.
The Red Wings may already have some veteran leaders like Patrick Kane or Dylan Larkin, but it became abundantly clear down the stretch last year that the group may have needed a few more voices. Especially when also accounting for the likely influx of prospects like Nate Danielson and Carter Mazur, van Riemsdyk’s leadership will be invaluable in Detroit even if he only puts up 15-20 goals.
In a free agency class that quickly became devoid of top-end talent, Yzerman has cheaply filled other holes on the roster and undid past mistakes. The van Riemsdyk and Tarasenko moves are an example of that, and the Wings roster already looks better than last year's as a result.
With the depth holes slowly getting filled, fans are still hoping for a bigger fish to become available and Yzerman to pounce.
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