5 blueliners the Red Wings can steal from the Metropolitan Division in NHL free agency
Mike Reilly, New York Islanders
As you may have guessed, the theme here was to start with potential long-term answers, then discuss a few short-term stopgaps. Mike Reilly lands in the latter, as he’s spent time with six different franchises since the 2015-16 season, and he too factors in more as a seventh defenseman or someone who predominantly rotates with a seventh blueliner but receives the nod most of the time.
He also put up some surprising numbers with a New York Islanders team that struggled to score this past season, with 24 points and six goals in 59 contests. He’s not the type of blueliner who will land big hits in every game, but a possession quality of 5.9 and a respectable 51.1 Corsi For imply value at yet another cost-effective price.
It’s also worth noting he put up these solid numbers as a waiver claim and one that turned out to be a solid pickup for a team that needed to fight all season just to stick around in the playoff hunt before a couple of hot streaks late in the season. If he lands in Detroit, Reilly would have a good chance to put up 20-plus points two seasons in a row for the first time in his career.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)