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The Detroit Red Wings have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the ninth season in a row. Special teams was the one aspect of the game that held the team back throughout the 2024-25 season. Going into his seventh season as general manager of the team, the pressure is on general manager Steve Yzerman to finally get the Red Wings back to the playoffs. Is adding one free agent the right long-term move for the Red Wings?
The NHL’s salary cap will rise to $88 million for the 2025-26 season. This is the first time that the salary cap will rise since the 2019-20 season, when the COVID-19 pandemic saw teams play in empty buildings. The Red Wings are projected to have $21 million in salary cap space to use for the 2025-26 season. This news came out after Detroit’s loss in its final game of the 2024-25 season to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is a game that the Red Wings would lose in overtime by a score of 4-3. The Red Wings finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 39-35-8, good for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
According to PuckPedia, “Detroit is the only team with an overage that did not use LTIR during the season. They had $2.888 million in bonuses earned, offset by $2.02 million in cap space, resulting in an $871K overage. Patrick Kane earned $1.75 million of his $2.5 million in age-35+ bonuses (games played, but not playoffs). Simon Edvinsson earned 3 “A” bonus categories while Marco Kasper ($500K) hit two.”
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) April 18, 2025
PuckPedia Breaking News
At least 11 teams will have a performance bonus overage next season, which reduces their cap space in 25-26.#StlBlues lead with $2.15M cap charge#GoHabsGo $1.7M
Read about how the overages work, who earned them, & more:https://t.co/daryXFAfh5
One player that will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season ends is right-winger Mitch Marner, now of the Toronto Maple Leafs. At 27 years old, Marner scored 27 goals and added 73 assists in 80 games played for the Maple Leafs during the 2024-25 season. Signing a player such as Marner away from a divisional opponent would be a boon for Yzerman. This hinges on the success of the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. In Marner’s time with the Maple Leafs, the team has only won one playoff series.
Lucas Raymond was the leading point-getter on the Red Wings with 80 points in 82 games played. Raymond had the most points of any player in the league under the age of 23. Some players that Yzerman has acquired as general manager of the Red Wings have worked out, while others have not. One example of this is fellow right-winger Vladimir Tarasenko, whom Yzerman signed as a free agent to a two-year, $9.5 million contract on July 3, 2024. In 80 games played during the 204-25 season, Tarasenko scored 11 goals and added 22 assists.
Both Raymond and Marner were drafted fourth overall in their respective drafts. Raymond was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, while Marner was drafted by the Maple Leafs with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In that time, both players have been a major part of their teams’ offense. While Marner has nearly cracked 100 points twice before during his career, Raymond’s 80 points this season is a career high.
During locker clean-out day, the captain of the Red Wings, Dylan Larkin, voiced his perceived criticism of Yzerman, saying, “We didn’t gain any momentum at the trade deadline. Guys were kind of down about it.” Larkin has led the Red Wings through the franchise’s rebuild after being drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Waterford, Michigan, native was named captain of the Red Wings after Henrik Zetterberg was forced to retire after the 2017-18 season due to a back injury.
Larkin had a coming-out party at the Four Nations Faceoff, playing in a third-line role for Team USA. In the four games at the tournament, Larkin scored a goal and added one assist. The rosters of all four teams at the Four Nations were loaded with talent. At the time of the tournament, the thinking was that if Larkin had more talented players surrounding him, he would have more success. Adding a player like Marner to the Red Wings’ roster would solve this problem.
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TODAY'S BEST
Two Teams Linked to a Trade with Bruins for Pavel Zacha
The Boston Bruins are gauging trade interest in forward Pavel Zacha, according to The Fourth Period. Following a down season and a trade deadline where Zacha’s name was thrown around but was ultimately not moved, Bruins GM Don Sweeney is trying to move the 27-year-old Czech center. Zacha is playing in the final season of a contract that has a $4.75 million cap hit. Zacha, acquired from the New Jersey Devils in 2022 for Erik Haula, has been a solid pickup for Boston. He posted 21 goals and 57 points in 78 games in 2023-24, though his production dipped slightly to 47 points over a full 82-game slate last season. He can play up and down the lineup and has a strong two-way game. Who Has Shown Interest in a Zacha Trade? Two teams reportedly monitoring Zacha are the Vancouver Canucks and the Utah Hockey Club. Both teams are seeking top-six forward depth and would value Zacha’s steady offensive contributions. The Canucks have been busy all summer, signing and trading players. They have also been linked to Jack Roslovic talks in free agency, meaning they wouldn’t be adding both. Utah has been looking to make a splash this season and work their way up the standings in an attempt to compete for the playoffs. The Bruins would likely demand a notable return, but neither team is looking to send players back. The trade would likely involve a high pick or a mid-tier prospect. Zacha controls part of the process with an eight-team no-trade list. He’s owed just $3.75 million in actual salary each of the next two seasons, further boosting his trade appeal.
Five potential landing spots for Christian Wilkins after stunning Raiders release
The Las Vegas Raiders just stunned the league by releasing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins after only one year with the team. After signing a four-year, $110 million contract, he struggled with injuries in 2024. This was supposed to be a big bounce-back year for Wilkins, but after a dispute between the two sides in regard to how to handle his foot injury, the team decided it was best to part ways. Now, a premier interior disruptor is suddenly available. Assuming his medicals get checked out soon, there should be a lot of interest around the league. Where should he land? Dallas Cowboys Dallas has needed a dominant interior presence for quite some time. Osa Odighizuwa is an awesome threat, but he is only solid against the run. Alongside him, the team will be banking heavily on 2023 first-rounder Mazi Smith, who has been disappointing so far. With Dallas looking to return to the playoffs, adding a stud like Wilkins could give Dallas one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. San Francisco 49ers The 49ers added some young bodies in CJ West and Alfred Collins, yet neither offer a proven, all-around talent like Wilkins could if healthy. The 49ers defensive line was horrid outside of Nick Bosa in 2024, but by adding Wilkins, the team would now have a solid cast of starters with Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Wilkins and Kevin Givens/Jordan Elliott. Miami Dolphins A return to Miami makes a ton of sense for both sides. The Dolphins know exactly how to use Wilkins, he knows the building and players, and the transition would be very easy. Miami needs help in the interior defensive line; by plugging Wilkins back into his old role, he could offer the quickest path to high-level impact. Detroit Lions With Levi Onwuzurike out with injury and Detroit needing more juice on the defensive line, adding a proven disruptor like Wilkins could make some sense. He could provide more depth while he gets fully healthy, and he can join a legit Super Bowl contender. His energy and mentality could be a good fit for a Dan Campbell-led squad. Jacksonville Jaguars The Jaguars defense is average in the interior, but they have excellent edge-rushers who would benefit greatly from a strong disruptor up the middle. Wilkins could balance the front, help in the run defense and allow more one-on-ones for their premier edge-rushers. For a team that wants to return to the playoffs as soon as possible, adding a veteran like Wilkins could be a worthy bet to make.
Raiders Add Former Chiefs, Texas DT After Christian Wilkins Release
The Las Vegas Raiders signed former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal last offseason. Unfortunately, he only played in five games during the 2024 NFL season due to an injury. Wilkins had not yet returned to the offseason program for the Raiders this year, as he suffered a setback in his recovery process. A bitter, ongoing debate between him and the franchise about how best to rehabilitate his injury led to his release on Thursday. After this sudden move, Las Vegas needed to act quickly to add another defensive tackle to the roster. On Friday, NFL Insider Aaron Wilson reported that the team had been awarded Keondre Coburn off waivers. "#Raiders awarded DT Keondre Coburn off waivers, per a league source," Wilson wrote. Coburn played his college football with the Texas Longhorns and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. There, he only played in one game during his rookie season, but won the Super Bowl with the Chiefs. He spent the last one and a half seasons with the Tennessee Titans, where he saw his role marginally increase. Coburn played in 15 contests last season for the Titans, starting one game and recording 14 tackles. The new regime in Las Vegas, spearheaded by head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek, will give Coburn another chance in the NFL. He is just 25 years old and lands with the Raiders after being waived by Tennessee the day prior.
Sacramento Kings GM Reveals 'Ideal' Lineup Change
For years, the Sacramento Kings have struggled due to a lack of size and athleticism, especially at the forward positions. But new GM Scott Perry has a goal to address that team need this offseason to help move Keegan Murray to a different spot in certain lineups. The Kings came into the offseason with two main goals: to add a lead point guard and to add length and athleticism. They brought in Dennis Schröder to solve their point guard needs, but haven't fully addressed the need to add wing depth. They drafted Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud, who both bring good size, but neither fits the 3/4 prototype of a 6-foot-8 to 6-foot-10 wing that could help Keegan Murray on the frontcourt. But it appears that the need is still on Scott Perry's mind, as he stated when he joined Sactown Sports 1140 on the Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross. "It's always on my radar to get better. That position, the four position, if a team has a good four-man, they're holding on to him," Perry stated. "In an ideal world, I'd like to be able to get Keegan more opportunities playing the small forward to allow us to play bigger as a team. " With the roster as currently constructed, the Kings' only backup power forward options are Dario Saric, who may be more of a center at this point in his career, and second-year big Isaac Jones. Doug McDermott could fill in, but he's a little undersized for the power forward spot and the Kings shouldn't go into the season relying on him for more than a shooting spark off the bench. It's also possible that Raynaud gets some time at the power forward spot, as he has the potential to be able to play next to Domantas Sabonis thanks to his outside shooting. But again, he's not the switchable wing that is so valuable in today's NBA. The Kings are still tied to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, with the two sides meeting for the first time in recent days, with the meeting going well between Perry and Kuminga. Bringing in the 22-year-old wing would certainly solve the problem that the Kings are facing and give them extra size on the wings. A duo of Kuminga and Murray would be the best forward duo the Kings have had in recent years, potentially passing Harrison Barnes and Murray. What will be interesting to see what happens if the Kings strike out on Kuminga and are unable to get a sign and trade done with the Warriors. Perry seems to be patient going into next season, taking his time to build the roster in a way that fits his long term vision. There are a few options out there, including Precious Achiuwa and Kai Jones, or they could look to bring Trey Lyles, who they can go over the cap to sign since they have his bird rights. For now, we appear to be stuck in a wait-and-see situation until the Kuminga deal is resolved, but it's at least good news that Perry still has the power forward spot on his mind as the offseason continues.
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