Detroit Red Wings Restricted Free Agency Targets

Frankly, I don’t know that a good rookie campaign for Gritsyuk was a good thing for the New Jersey Devils, who remain cap-strapped. The Russian forward scored 31 points in 66 games playing on the third line for the Devils. The speedy forward is up for a new deal, and the Devils might not have the money to get it done.

The Devils still don’t have a contract for former second overall pick Simon Nemec. With two big-name restricted free agents coming up at the same time and only $10.9M to do it, there is a reality where one of them is on the move. They’ve tried to move defenseman Dougie Hamilton for a while now, according to reports, and that avenue doesn’t seem very likely anymore. Unless Nico Hischier truly is on the way out, I don’t see an avenue to extend both RFAs and improve the roster this offseason.

Because of this, I think the Devils would at least humor a deal for Gritsyuk. If it’s available, I’d pretty happily take him in Detroit. I think he’s certainly a better gamble on a top-line winger than some of the other names out there, like Kent Johnson or Mason McTavish.

New Jersey needs some kind of shakeup. Frankly, anyone they let go is probably worth pursuing given the current state of the Red Wings. The name I’d have my eye on more than anything is Hischier. But don’t be surprised if another piece, like Gritsyuk, becomes available.

Pavel Mintyukov

The Red Wings have an organizational lack of left-shot defensemen. I’d like a serious upgrade on the left side, preferably with some size and term, and Pavel Mintyukov of the Anaheim Ducks fits the bill pretty well. At 6’1″ and 207 lbs, the frame is solid, but the physical and defensive game could use some pretty serious help. All in all, it’s certainly a more educated risk than the Red Wings have currently.

It stems from the Ducks having a lot of deals to get done. While their $37,773,395 in cap space looks like a lot on paper, Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier will easily eat up more than half of that. They also need to sign four more defensemen to be able to field a blue line of similar quality to their playoff pairings. Mintyukov has had his name in trade talks since October. With the Ducks looking to save cap space where possible, Mintyukov might be the casualty.

I don’t think it would be too expensive for the Red Wings to take him on. I could see them simply swapping him for Albert Johansson and a pick. Pavel Mintyukov’s underlying numbers aren’t promising, consistently having his defensive metrics look very poor. Not to mention his hits per game went down from over one per game to about half a hit per game this season.

There is clearly a need for a guy like Mintyukov in Detroit long term, so I’d be pretty comfortable taking him on to help out the left side long term. At his best, he’s the kind of guy I want next to Sandin-Pellikka long term.

Peyton Krebs

It took Peyton Krebs a bit longer than expected to break out, but this season with Buffalo, he looked pretty solid. The best tool he has is his skating, something the Red Wings need pretty desperately. Peyton Krebs plays at a higher gear than most of the NHL and is comfortably quicker than most Red Wings, even Emmitt Finnie.

Beyond that, in just 13:46 per game, Krebs was able to produce 39 points in 82 games this past season, with only one coming on the power play. Despite being 25, he’s been taking strides the past three seasons in a row, and I genuinely think there is a solid 50-point player there in the right situation. Partly because of how well he played alongside Buffalo’s best players.

On the wing beside Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson, Krebs was a +10 with solid possession metrics. There’s some pretty solid reason to believe he could step onto the Red Wings top line beside Larkin and Raymond and become a pretty solid even-strength producer who helps address the Red Wings speed problem.

As with all the teams I’ve mentioned before, Buffalo is going to be up against the cap. They need to keep Zach Benson around after his great regular season and playoffs, and they can’t afford to lose the production that Alex Tuch brought them. With under $12,000,000 to make it work, a guy like Krebs will probably end up as the odd man out. It would certainly be worth a shot for the Red Wings to make it work.

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I get it, it’s not Jason Robertson, Connor Bedard, or Adam Fantilli. Believe me, I’d love those guys too, but with the cap rising and teams understanding the importance of keeping star players, they aren’t likely to move. Don’t get me wrong, if they’re out there, Detroit should be pushing to get them. But, for now, I think these are pretty realistic avenues to improvement for Detroit.

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