The runway for the Detroit Red Wings to find a solution at center has grown even smaller. Pittsburgh Penguins legend (and childhood Red Wings fan) Evgeni Malkin signed a one-year, bonus-laden deal with the Penguins this week.
Now, to be fair, it was highly unlikely Malkin would sign anywhere else. The superstar center has played all of his 21 seasons with the Penguins. But, with his signing official, the Red Wings have fewer options at center this offseason. A few weeks back, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed center Charlie Coyle to a six year contract, a move that would surely spell disaster for the Red Wings had they done the deal.
But, with that in mind, there aren't many options at center left on the free agent market for the Red Wings.
Free agent market shallow at best
Here are the 2026 NHL unrestricted free agents listed as center in Puckpedia's database:
- Claude Giroux: 38 years old, 49 points in 82 games
- Marcus Johansson: 35 years old, 49 points in 75 games
- Bobby McMann: 29 years old, 46 points in 78 games
- Boone Jenner: 32 years old, 38 points in 67 games
- Jack Roslovic: 29 years old, 36 points in 69 games
- Jonathan Toews: 38 years old, 29 points in 82 games
- Noel Acciari: 34 years old, 25 points in 67 games
There are, of course, a few other centers available like 31-year-old Scott Laughton, but his 20 points in 64 games doesn't exactly scream second line center-level production. Adding someone like, say, Boone Jenner would only repeat the pattern the Red Wings have had of signing older, less effective guys to play center.
Bobby McMann and Jack Roslovic are on the younger side, but their lack of serious production leaves a lot to the imagination. Would these players have breakouts in their prime, or would they simply become the next J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp to add to the list?
Without a clear solution in sight, the Red Wings need to get creative.
Red Wings need to hit trade, RFA market
The Red Wings aren't going to find their solution on July 1. Rather, they ned to think outside the box and look into making a trade. There are a few restricted free agents that offer tantalizing upside, but acquiring someone like Mavrik Bourque requires a little bit of trade magic. We haven't seen general manager Steve Yzerman make a blockbuster trade since Alex DeBrincat, who made it abundantly clear he wanted to play in Detroit and Detroit only.
Last season's move for John Gibson shows that Yzerman isn't afraid to step out of his comfort zone. He's done it plenty of times in the past with trades for Jakub Vrana, Jake Walman and others. If he hopes to make this team a legitimate playoff threat next season, he'll need to hit the phone lines and call up other managers this summer.
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