Steve Yzerman preaches internal depth following a quiet trade deadline

Not selling proves the Red Wings have taken yet another significant step forward in their rebuild.

Sure, maybe it would have made sense to move a couple of pending free agents such as David Perron, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere, and even perhaps Patrick Kane for an abundance of future assets, but doing that you risk conveying a negative message to the team. The players that have been with Detroit through these lean years have been a large part of the rebuild, and they've fought hard to be right in the postseason race. Standing pat was probably the best move for team morale, and it also tells this group that the Red Wings want to continue to build this thing from within and maybe make a bit of a splash in the summer.

In closing, Yzerman discussed the organization's pending unrestricted free agents. He acknowledged that the team will most likely be unable to re-sign all of them, but he's had conversations with each of their agents and mentioned that he just wants to see how the remainder of the year plays out. He mentioned that extending the restricted free agents, whether long-term or short-term, will impact what they can do regarding the UFAs.

I believe James Reimer and Shayne Gostisbehere are on their way out over the summer. Extending Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond will be Yzerman's top priority, and I believe re-signing Patrick Kane should also be a priority.

Following that, it comes down to nickel and dimes with Joe Veleno, David Perron, Daniel Sprong, and Christian Fischer. Some likely won't be back due to the salary cap, but that will pave the way for players like Berggren, Edvinsson, and perhaps Marco Kasper or Carter Mazur to become regulars at the NHL level.