5 seemingly unreasonable offseason moves that would make complete sense for the Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are one of a few teams in position to take some risks this offseason, and some of those risks would make complete sense.
The Detroit Red Wings have no other options this year - it is, and should be playoffs or bust, considering that general manager Steve Yzerman has had so many chances to get this right. And yes, the respected executive seems as though he has the franchise on the right path, but still, missing the playoffs is missing the playoffs, and it means he needs to stay aggressive with roster and organizational transactions between now and mid-July.
And that might mean making some moves that superficially make zero sense, but when you sit down and think about them, they make perfect sense. This is what we’re discussing today, and it encompasses free agency, trades, and even re-signing one particular player who may be on their way out.
We’ll start things off with free agency, where Yzerman could bring back one player who once upon a time was rather serviceable in the Motor City.
Bringing back Tyler Bertuzzi
One free agent the Red Wings should consider bringing back to the Motor City is Tyler Bertuzzi. You may remember Bertuzzi’s previous run in Detroit as following up what was a stellar 2021-22 campaign with the Red Wings when he finished the year with 30 goals and 62 points, and he also looked good playing defense when he needed to.
That changed in 2022-23 when Bertuzzi found himself sidelined often and only put up 14 points and four goals in 29 contests before Steve Yzerman traded him to Boston, where he enjoyed more success. But following a 43-point, 21-goal season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, again with a solid defensive effort, bringing back someone like Bertuzzi and entrenching him in the middle-six or even the lower lines would work in the Red Wings favor.
There are even more reasons why Bertuzzi would be an excellent fit once more in the Motor City, and a strong contingent of fans wouldn’t mind seeing him return to Detroit. Now, it’s all about turning that potential reunion into a reality.
Trading multiple first-round picks to land a star on the blue line
The Detroit Red Wings must put themselves in a prime position to end their long playoff drought, but they would also do well to take things a step further. Pulling off a big trade involving multiple first-round picks for a defenseman would immediately transform what has been a major weakness for a while now in the Motor City.
And there really shouldn’t be a price on it - multiple first-round picks, high-end prospects who wouldn’t make the Red Wings lineup this season, prospects who never panned out, you name it. Just make sure they’re going to an organization that can, in return, give the Red Wings more than just a decent blueliner to work with.
Jakob Chychrun would be one player worth bringing in, someone I was all about acquiring a few months back when it looked as though the Wings could buy at the 2024 trade deadline. Nick Seeler’s name also floated around near the deadline, and although he wouldn’t cost multiple first-round picks to bring in, someone like Seeler would be worth overpaying for.
Last season, he logged a 50.8 percent Corsi For at even strength, he was on the ice for more goals for than against - something that wasn’t easy playing for a team with a minus-26 goal differential, and while the Flyers were short-handed, he logged an on-ice save percentage of 91.6.
A physical player like Seeler, 132 hits and 235 blocks, would take the Red Wings a long way, so if it means paying more in compensation, they need to do it. Currently, he has a full no-trade clause, but it should be an easy decision to waive and go to Detroit.
Re-signing David Perron
It’s tough to see David Perron returning to Detroit, but letting him walk in free agency would be a major mistake on Steve Yzerman’s part. Perron is heading into his age-36 season, and sure, his presence would block a younger player or prospect who could easily make the Wings lineup otherwise. So on the surface, it would make sense to let him continue his career elsewhere.
But the Red Wings would also be giving up a physical player who can be reliable on the middle-six, and one still capable of contributing between 45 and 55 points per season. Re-signing Perron to an extension also shouldn’t mean breaking the bank or even giving him a long-term contract. But letting a productive player who can provide veteran leadership for a team that will be a playoff contender walk isn’t the best route.
Throughout his two seasons with the Red Wings, Perron has played in 158 contests, accruing 41 goals, and 103 points. He’s logged top-six minutes with an average time on ice of 16:18, and he’s also accumulated 218 hits and nearly a half-takeaway per game. At even strength, he’s also put up double-digits in on-ice shooting percentage in both seasons, and Perron has been a valuable asset to the man advantage.
Advocating to keep Perron around for another year seems counterintuitive to many, but he would be a catalyst in helping this Red Wings team return to the playoffs through both his play on the ice, and overall leadership.
Inserting Robby Fabbri into a trade package
If there is one player the Red Wings can afford to lose, it’s Robby Fabbri, and he’s a player Steve Yzerman can insert into just about any trade package. One downside to moving someone like Fabbri means the Red Wings would be trading not just someone who once won a Stanley Cup, but a player who was on a Cup-winning team that faced tons of adversity.
That said, Fabbri brings value to the Red Wings much in the same way Perron does, but the latter would be a much better fit to stick around. Supposing they end up keeping Perron, trading Fabbri, for one, would open up that spot in the lineup for a younger player or current prospect to take over full-time, where they could start on the lower lines and work their way into accruing more ice time.
Fabbri, at this point in his career, looks like he’s heading for a permanent role on the fourth line, and while it’s important to have strong forwards who can play sound defense at 5-on-5 and even strength, there are better options out there. Fabbri will earn $4.25 million this season in the final year of his deal with the Red Wings, so moving him will create cap space to allow Detroit to use in either free agency or re-signing their own pending free agents to contract extensions.
Overall, Fabbri would provide much more value to the Red Wings if they traded him in the final year of his deal, ideally to a potential contender in the Western Conference who could use a lower-liner.
Taking a chance on Kaapo Kahkonen
Signing a goaltender like Kaapo Kahkonen and trusting him as a 1A doesn’t look like a solid option at first glance, and you can argue the Red Wings would be better off snagging a star goaltender in a big trade or even taking a chance on acquiring a player like Filip Gustavsson.
But in this piece, that big trade was for a blueliner, not a goaltender, so keeping up with the ‘unreasonable, but makes sense theme,’ adding someone like Kaapo Kahkonen to a goaltending tandem that would include Alex Lyon looks as though there are a pair of 1B netminders in Detroit, but they are also high-upside netminders.
You can argue why doing something like this would also make no sense, and I would agree with you to an extent. But adding a talent like Kahkonen, whom we now know can provide decent returns for even a very average hockey team, would pay dividends in 2024-25.
As mentioned when I talked about re-signing David Perron, bringing in a player like Kahkonen doesn’t need to be for anything much more than a reasonable salary and a one-year deal. We still got Sebastian Cossa, who should be raring to go in 2025-26, so Kahkonen is a cost-effective yet more than serviceable stopgap.
Now, the only question would be what to do with Ville Husso, and there should be no question to just move him for something cheap and admit that acquiring him 24 months ago was a bad decision on Steve Yzerman’s part. Sure, they could stick with a Husso-Lyon tandem, but that’s something that would be more than seemingly unreasonable.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)