The Detroit Red Wings may not have played a game in nearly two months, but there is still hockey to watch as the Stanley Cup Final begins. For the second year in a row, the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will battle it out for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
There are plenty of storylines to follow in this series. Can the Panthers be the first team to repeat their title since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021? Will Connor McDavid finally win his first championship?
As they embark on a pivotal offseason, there are even some storylines specific to Red Wings fans. Detroit fans should follow these Florida and Edmonton players, who will be free agents this offseason, as any of them could don the Winged Wheel next year.
Florida Panthers
Aaron Ekblad
There have been several Panthers loosely linked to Detroit the past few weeks, including Ekblad. The 29-year-old has been one of the faces of the franchise for Florida since he was drafted first overall in 2014, and the team remains committed to getting a deal done. Despite the salary cap going up, the Panthers’ salary table will still be tight and may make an Ekblad deal difficult.
If Florida fails to re-sign him, the Wings need to go after Ekblad. Outside of Moritz Seider, Detroit has had a carousel of mediocre-to-bad defensemen rotate in and out of the lineup for several years. Ekblad may not be the Norris candidate or All-Star he used to be, but he is still in his prime and would bring stability, physicality, and leadership to a Detroit unit in desperate need of all three.
There are some concerns with Ekblad. His offensive production has declined each year since his career-high 57 points in 2021-22. This is due in part to injuries and suspensions.
Detroit management will also need to make a sizable commitment to Ekblad to pry him away from Florida. Is Steve Yzerman willing to give Ekblad multiple years with at least an $8 million AAV? If the GM wants to immediately upgrade a depleted blue line, then the answer should be yes.
Brad Marchand
As blasphemous as it sounds, Marchand may be precisely the type of player the Red Wings have needed for years. Yes, he still remains one of the most hated players in Detroit due to his time with the Boston Bruins, but the Wings are in no position to hold grudges.
The leadership, grit, physicality, and “devil may care” attitude Marchand brings to a hockey team is something that Detroit severely lacked this season and played a part in their end-of-year collapse.
Marchand has still proven to be able to provide some depth scoring. He had 23 goals and 51 points this year and has had at least 20 goals every season since 2013-2014.
The lone concern with Marchand is his age as next year will be his age-37 season, but he has not shown any signs of slowing down with 14 points in this year’s playoffs.
In the mold of Chris Chelios, Marchand is a classic “love him on your team; hate him against you” type of player. As with Chelios, Marchand will be a great signing for the Wings and could even become a fan favorite in Detroit.
Sam Bennett
A common theme amongst each of these Florida players is physicality, and that is even more true with Bennett.
Following an up-and-down start to his career with the Calgary Flames, Bennett’s career took off once he was traded to the Panthers in 2021. Although it leads to suspensions from time to time, Bennett is one of the most physically intimidating and feared players in the NHL. His acquisition would completely change the image of the Red Wings.
The former fourth overall pick has also developed offensively since joining the Panthers. In four full seasons with the team, he has had at least 40 points each year and scored at least 20 goals in three of those seasons. This includes a career-high 51 points in the 2024-25 regular season to go along with 10 goals and 16 points in the playoffs.
In the prime of his career and coming off a career year, Bennett is likely going to command close to $10 million AAV, and this comes with obvious risks for the Red Wings. Bennett’s improved offensive production could be a result of playing with great teammates and could dip if on a worse team. His suspension-prone physicality could also become a distraction in the locker room.
Considering the bad contracts and lack of scoring already on Detroit’s forward group, the risk may not be worth the reward in signing Bennett. Yzerman will ultimately need to determine if Bennett's intangibles outweigh a potential drop-off in point production.
Edmonton Oilers
Evan Bouchard
Although the Oilers will likely extend restricted free agent Bouchard this offseason, the fact remains that the star defenseman remains unsigned. Edmonton is also no stranger to losing RFAs as just last year the St. Louis Blues stole Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway out from under them.
The salary cap may be growing, but the Oilers already have depth concerns and large contracts committed to several players. You do not have to squint too hard to see Bouchard potentially leaving Edmonton.
If he becomes available, the Red Wings should drop everything to trade for Bouchard. He will be entering his age-26 season and is already one of the more prolific offensive defensemen in the league. Bouchard was top-5 in Norris Trophy voting in 2023-2024 when he had 18 goals and 82 points. He followed it up with 67 points this year.
Bouchard’s play in his own zone has been a concern, but he has shown improvement and has especially blossomed during this year’s playoffs. As he just now enters his prime, Bouchard should continue to grow as an all-around defenseman.
In addition to Bouchard filling an obvious need on the Detroit blue line, the Wings have trade assets the Oilers might be interested in. Goaltending has been a need in Edmonton for years. Could prospects like Sebastian Cossa or Trey Augustine be intriguing, or a veteran Cam Talbot? The Wings also have forward prospects and the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft to help facilitate a deal to improve the Oilers’ depth.
Again, it is unlikely that Bouchard leaves Edmonton, but it would be a godsend for the Red Wings if one of the best defensemen in the league became available.
John Klingberg
Klingberg is not as attractive a name as he was a few years ago. Once one of the more consistent defensemen in the league, multiple injuries have caused his play to decline over the past few seasons.
Despite only playing 11 games in the regular season this year, Klingberg has shown flashes of his former self in the playoffs and been a steadying force for a depleted Edmonton blue line. Klingberg has filled the void left by Mattias Ekholm’s injury, and the Oilers would not have made the Stanley Cup Final without his efforts.
Obviously, the Red Wings signing Klingberg would have obvious concerns, but Klingberg has shown these past few months that he still has something left in the tank. If he can be signed cheaply and stay mostly healthy, he would be a great third-pairing defenseman and bring leadership to the locker room.
Jeff Skinner, Connor Brown, Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen
The Oilers have several pending free-agent depth forwards who could be targets for the Red Wings. Secondary scoring and poor play on the bottom two lines were among Detroit's most glaring weaknesses this season, and these players could help fix that.
Because of the horror of the Vladimir Tarasenko signing, Detroit may avoid taking a chance on another aging star forward like Jeff Skinner. However, it may not be bad to give Skinner a shot, depending on the cost. He has struggled to stay in the lineup during this year’s playoffs, but Skinner is only two years removed from scoring 35 goals and will only be 33 years old. With an expanded role on Detroit’s bottom lines, he could produce some needed depth scoring.
Connor Brown and Trent Frederic will not help in the scoring department, but are each physical forwards who provide energy to a team. With Tyler Motte a free agent, either Brown or Frederic could easily improve on Motte’s production from last season.
Kasperi Kapanen may be the most interesting name in this group. Once a member of the young Toronto Maple Leafs core, Kapanen’s production has steadily declined since his 20-goal season in 2018-19. The 28-year-old only had six goals this year, but has three in the playoffs, including a series-clinching goal in Round 2. Similar to Skinner, this is a buy-low opportunity for Detroit on a player like Kapanen, who once showed goal-scoring prowess.
None of these players are stars by any means, but they could be worth a flyer as the Wings look to improve the back end of their forward group.
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