One pending free agent the Red Wings can steal from their Atlantic Division rivals
Even if the Detroit Red Wings look to promote in-house, it doesn’t mean Steve Yzerman won’t still look outside the organization for help this summer.
The Detroit Red Wings could still make the comeback this season and land a spot in the NHL Playoffs. Regardless of what happens, this organization and their fan base should be intrigued, since 2023-24 has been a much-improved year from what we saw in 2022-23.
Since February 29th, Detroit is a meager 4-10-2 (10 points), and they have struggled through a couple of identical frustrating spans this season. So they still need to grow as a team and it also wouldn’t hurt for general manager Steve Yzerman to look beyond the organization to add just one more free agent or two, even if he’s looking to bring up some prospects next year.
Further, why not look toward some players who have become familiar faces who are currently suiting up for division rivals season slated to become free agents once 2023-24 comes to a close? Let’s check out a few names he should at least consider bringing to the Motor City this summer.
Kevin Shattenkirk, Defenseman/Boston Bruins
Kevin Shattenkirk is a 14-year veteran with a Stanley Cup on his resume and as a defenseman, he would be well-equipped to help the Red Wings out near the crease. He’s not the top-four player he was if 2023-24 gives us any indication since Shattenkirk is logging third-pairing minutes - a career-low 15:43 of average total ice time.
But this shouldn’t deter Yzerman if he needed to fill one more vacancy on the blue line, as Shattenkirk has shown he can still produce. He should once again threaten to block triple-digits worth of shot attempts next season, he’s still relatively physical, and he can still possess a two-way game - 22 points and five goals in 57 outings with the Bruins.
Shattenkirk, like many free agents on this list, also won’t get in any prospect’s way, as he’s at the point in his career where he’s signing one-year deals, and nothing more. At 35, there is a good chance he retires if the Bruins win the Cup, but if he wants to return and play again, he wouldn’t cost the Red Wings much.
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Zemgus Girgensons, Forward/Buffalo Sabres
Zemgus Girgensons would provide just as much of a physical presence for a Red Wings team that’s finishing just 20 checks per game. One big plus with a player like Girgensons is that he could come right into Detroit and play the exact same role as a bruiser on the fourth line, but one who can surprisingly rack up some goals.
He’s found the net at least 10 times in each of the last three seasons before 2023-24 that he’s been healthy to play in - he took 2020-21 off - and with eight this season, he may get there once again. But when you watch Girgensons play, his defense, especially the physical nature of his game, jumps out more than anything else.
He has 132 hits this year, but he’s more than just that type of player who exclusively finishes checks. We know this because Girgensons has been plus-50 in the Corsi For at 5-on-5 over the past two seasons. And despite the Sabres struggling through a lost year in 2023-24, he’s also been on the ice for 19 goals for and just 17 against.
Girgensons also has an on-ice save percentage of 93.4 at 5-on-5, and he’s also quick to build rapport with any linemate he may have.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Defenseman/Florida Panthers
Much like Kevin Shattenkirk, Oliver Ekman-Larsson would bring a winning mentality to the Red Wings, and his experience would be just as useful in finally getting this team across the threshold to the playoffs.
The only difference is that, as a blueliner more equipped to log top-four minutes even at this stage in his career, Ekman-Larsson would also be in a better position to address a weakness. Hey, if the Red Wings can’t find anyone to stop the puck from consistently finding the net, they may as well find a blueliner or two who can consistently put themselves in good position to help stop pucks from reaching the crease.
Ekman-Larsson doesn’t block a ton of shots on goal, but he is someone who will consistently help a team like the Red Wings establish possession in the offensive zone - his 56.1 in the Corsi this season at 5-on-5 shows us that. The Florida Panthers are a good overall hockey team, but Detroit is also good enough offensively for a player like Ekman-Larsson to showcase his skills offensively after he helps move the puck through the neutral zone.
Although Ekman-Larsson isn’t an elite scorer, he's someone who could help further Detroit’s power play prowess, thanks to how valuable he’s been for the Panthers on the man advantage. He would also give Detroit help when they are short-handed, and he’s yet another player on this list who could contribute as a physical presence.
Colin White, Forward/Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens had perhaps the lowest variety of pending unrestricted free agents among teams in the Atlantic Division, so this one is more about signing for organizational depth. Colin White is one of those journeymen who can provide such depth for a year or two, especially when some current prospects start moving up.
He’s got just a little over 315 games of NHL experience since he debuted in 2016-17, and the 2018-19 season remains the high-water mark of his career. White spent that season with the Ottawa Senators, logging 41 points and 14 goals in 71 games, and five goals on the man advantage. He landed in Montreal on waivers in February 2024, but he has zero points in 13 games with the team and just 9:24 of average total ice time.
Ideally, a player like White would be someone for Detroit to place onto their AHL team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, and let him be a leader. He has enough experience and even modest success in the NHL to where he could play on the fourth line if injuries struck the Red Wings.
Overall, White won’t score, but he can be physical these days and he will get the occasional stick on the puck. If by any chance he became a full-time NHLer again, he would be a defense-first player.
Dominik Kubalik, Forward/Ottawa Senators
Dominik Kubalik should be a familiar face to Red Wings fans, as he spent the 2022-23 season with the organization. Steve Yzerman moved Kubalik in the Alex Debrincat trade, but so far he’s been a not-so-good fit with the Ottawa Senators.
Barring some unforeseen extension, it’s not likely that Kubalik sticks around in Ottawa, allowing him to test the free agent market. One reason Detroit should be on his radar is mainly thanks to the fact he played well last season, recording 45 points and 20 goals in 81 games.
It was his best year since he arrived in the NHL during the 2019-20 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. And if you remember correctly, Kubalik proved to be a serviceable forward not just at even strength, but also on the Red Wings power play, where he scored a career-best seven goals at 5-on-4.
This article has already shared a couple of forwards who would bring a much-needed physical presence to Detroit, but the familiar face in Kubalik would be ideal. Zemgus Girgensons plays with energy and Colin White can bring depth, but Kubalik would have chemistry with many of those in the lineup and still share a dose of physical play.
That could make him the most ideal forward slated to be a free agent for Yzerman to sign if he needed a proven lower-liner for 2024-25.
Mathew Dumba, Defenseman/Tampa Bay Lightning
With such weak defense in Detroit this season, the defensive forward or in this case the blue line theme continues. Mathew Dumba’s presence would make for one the Red Wings are currently missing, and he would establish the presence of a proven veteran in the Motor City, especially if Shayne Gostisbehere goes elsewhere.
While Dumba wouldn’t attain the same offensive production as Gostisbehere, his physical play, ability to contribute short-handed, and his solid defensive zone presence would all be pluses. Dumba’s possession quality suffered this season, but it’s also important to point out he spent most of 2023-24 playing on a rebuilding Arizona Coyotes team that did little from the second half of the year onward.
Overall, Dumba is a defenseman on this list who would make a great complement to a player with two-way potential like Simon Edvinsson. He would also fit onto the third-pairing and mainly focus on providing a steady, physical presence for what has inevitably become the latter stages of his career.
Dumba won’t be the same player he was during his time with the Minnesota Wild, but thanks to Detroit’s ability to score when they are on a roll, he doesn’t need to be. Let him take on a stay-at-home role, and he will give a team like the Red Wings plenty of value.
Joel Edmundson, Defenseman/Toronto Maple Leafs
There is nothing fancy regarding Joel Edmundson, and while he’s never going to score points from the blue line, it’s been established plenty of times already that the Red Wings won’t need high-end scorers. They do need to add more experienced defenseman, and Joel Edmundson would make an excellent consolation prize as far as the Atlantic Division goes among players at his position listed in this article.
Since his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs last month, Edmundson has kept up his physical play, with 14 hits and 11 blocks. Overall, he’s finished 73 checks on the year and gotten in front of 60 pucks while logging third-pairing minutes.
This is the kind of player the Red Wings would sign and, should they attain enough depth defensively, place as their seventh man and let him rotate in when they need someone to consistently provide a physical presence.
Edmundson’s Corsi For reflects his strictly stay-at-home style of play, as it sits at just 47.3 on the year. But he may be a little more effective than meets the eye offensively, as his time in Toronto has indicated. Though it’s just a seven-game sample size, Edmundson does have a 45.1 Corsi For despite just seeing just 35 percent of all his starts in the offensive zone.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)