5 game-changing free agents who would drastically help the Red Wings next season
The Detroit Red Wings are in that precarious situation where they haven’t been an undisputed playoff contender, but sneaking in as a wild card was realistic.
With so much cap space and a “playoffs or bust” season in 2024-25, general manager Steve Yzerman must make something happen this offseason if he’s interested in keeping himself off the hot seat. “Playoffs or bust” may not be what some fans in the Motor City want to hear, but Yzerman has been back with the organization long enough, and playing in 82-game seasons will no longer be acceptable.
That said, Yzerman may need to keep looking to add quality talent from outside the Red Wings organization to further speed up the process. This doesn’t mean he can’t promote prospects to play for this team full-time, nor does he need to sign anyone who could get into the way of others there may not be room for when the regular season begins in mid-October.
But he can’t just let a few players walk in free agency and only replace them with incoming prospects, lest he risk the team stagnating next year.
Steve Yzerman must consider bringing in one or more sound free agents
There are some positions he must address through free agency, no matter what. For example, there is no way he can allow the goaltending to fare so poorly again, nor should there be any way he should sit in the press box and watch his team allow 32.4 shots on goal per game.
Here is an interesting statistic for the Red Wings at 5-on-5: Their Corsi For is a meager 45.9 percent, showing us how poorly this team has been at getting the puck out of their own zone half the time. Sure, they can score often, but the Red Wings allow way too many shots, both shots on goal and as far as the Corsi goes.
Just how bad was this team in the Corsi For Percentage at 5-on-5? You may not believe it, but through 78 games - not counting their recent loss to Pittsburgh - only the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks were worse. So, when it comes to signing some unrestricted free agents this offseason, improving defensively would help lead to more chances in the offensive zone.
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Signing Ilya Samsonov would immediately upgrade the crease
It would make a ton of sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs to re-sign Ilya Samsonov following his resurgence this season. For the longest time, the Maple Leafs were one of those, “Well, they would be a great team if they just had some decent goaltending,” and Samsonov has recently given them that.
While Samsonov’s quality starts percentage this season is just 0.500 with a 0.895 save percentage and a 3.00 GAA, let’s judge him more on what he’s done recently. Since January 2024, Samsonov has a 0.913 save percentage, 601 saves on 658 shot attempts, and an 18-4-1 record.
He’s been a major reason that the Maple Leafs managed to pull ahead and take third place in the Atlantic Division, and there is no reason to believe he won’t parlay that success in the playoffs. Perhaps he will test the market in July if general manager Brad Treliving doesn’t manage to re-sign him before free agency begins. And if that’s the case, Steve Yzerman would be wise to swoop in and try to bring him to Michigan.
Given the struggles the Red Wings have faced this season at goaltender, even if Yzerman signed no one else, Samsonov’s presence would give this team better results defensively.
Ian Cole would make the Red Wings more respectable in the defensive zone
The Red Wings need to stop allowing so many shot attempts per contest, and aspects of their 5-on-5 game cannot be down there with the worst teams in the league. Instead of struggling through another season with a pedestrian blue line, they need to sign someone who can block several shots per contest.
Ian Cole has been a big reason Thatcher Demko was enjoying a season that could have won him the Vezina had he not gotten hurt, and he could do the same for Detroit’s next goaltender. Even if Yzerman decided to give the trio of Ville Husso, James Reimer, and Alex Lyon another season, all three of them would benefit from Cole.
He may be an older player, so look for this to be a one-year deal and nothing more, but that’s okay since we are taking potential prospects into consideration. Yet, with 163 blocks through 76 games with Vancouver, it’s hard to ignore the fact Cole can still play at a high level and that he would at least keep the number of shots on goal more manageable.
His presence alone wouldn’t provide any miracles, but there is a good chance that, if everything else remains equal, Cole would help take the Red Wings number of shots on goal to under 30 per game.
Jonathan Marchessault could come at a discounted rate
There isn’t much more Steve Yzerman needs to do regarding his forwards, so Jonathan Marchessault would be a bonus if he doesn’t re-sign with the Vegas Golden Knights and winds up in Detroit.
Marchessault has been a fixture in the franchise’s early history and has been there since the beginning, so there would be an incentive for him to finish his career in Vegas. But if he tests the market, Yzerman must sell the idea for him to at least consider Detroit.
Sure, he’s an aging player, but Yzerman was right about Patrick Kane, and Marchessault carries nowhere near as much risk as Kane did. There was a chance Kane wouldn’t be anywhere near the same player following a hip resurfacing procedure, but that isn’t the case with Marchessault.
This isn’t saying the Red Wings should move on without Kane next year - he deserves to return - but Marchessault would also give Detroit more help in the defensive zone. He’s physical and not afraid to do the dirty work in battling for the puck, and Detroit needs more players like that to regain puck possession more often.
In case you didn’t know, Marchessault also has an eye-popping 41 goals through 78 games, which is outrageous, considering he’s never scored over 30 in a season before this.
Overall, it’s hard to see Marchessault leaving Vegas, but if, for any reason, general manager Kelly McCrimmon doesn’t re-sign him, Yzerman needs to pick up the phone.
Kaapo Kahkonen would fare well with a team like Detroit
The New Jersey Devils don’t have a great blue line, but we can judge Kaapo Kahkonen so much better in Newark than we could during the bulk of the season he spent in San Jose. So far, in what should be a short stint with the Devils, Kahkonen has just a 1-3-0 record in five games, but he also has a solid 2.92 GAA and a 0.918 save percentage.
Kahkonen has the advantage of knowing that Detroit, should Yzerman for any reason not upgrade the blue line or the crease other than in a scenario where the general manager signs the 27-year-old, will be similar to what he has seen in Newark. As you know, the Devils have faced issues with their blue line and crease all season, but it hasn’t stopped Kahkonen and Jake Allen to provide that much-needed stability.
The only major downside with Kahkonen is that he wouldn’t figure to be a 1A, so ideally, he would be part of an equally split rotation, perhaps with either Alex Lyon or Ville Husso. That said, he would also be an upgrade over what Detroit already has.
Brandon Montour would help on both ends of the ice
In a previous article, I listed Oliver Ekman-Larsson as a potential blueliner the Red Wings could ‘steal’ from a rival. Brandon Montour is another one who will be entering unrestricted free agency, and would he be an upgrade or what?
Last season, he had 73 points and 16 goals, which is an incredible number for a defenseman, and it led to him finishing 12th for the Norris Trophy. Add in the 92 hits, 93 blocks, and 33 takeaways, and it’s more than clear that Montour is one of the league’s best blueliners, regardless of which zone he finds himself in.
He has just 32 points and seven goals in 63 games this year, so he hasn’t been as effective in scoring. But he’s still ultra-physical, and he continues to get in front of shots, helping the Panthers maintain their status as one of the league’s best defensive teams.
We won’t see Steve Yzerman manage to sign all of these free agents, and thinking otherwise is nothing short of wishful. But if he lands just one while continuing to stick to his famed “Yzerplan,” look for the Red Wings to potentially break through and make a serious bid at knocking off either Boston, Florida, or Toronto from the top three next season.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)