Three Red Wings Offseason Hot Takes

A lot of Red Wings fans are in agreement that this defense group isn’t perfect, but it is far from the biggest worry with this team. While I agree for the most part, I think Detroit still seriously needs a top-four lefty. Anton Johansson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka look poised to take the bottom two spots on the right side in the future after Justin Faulk departs. Though I can’t say Detroit has a current or future answer for the left side.

Simon Edvinsson looks like a safe bet to become the Red Wings number two for the next decade. However, behind him, Ben Chiarot has continued to look poor down the stretch. Albert Johansson also lacks the physical tools to play in the top four. A left-shot addition with term could be the answer to finally locking down this team’s instability on the back-end.

I wouldn’t spend a fortune. Justin Faulk already cost the team an arm and a leg. But I wonder about a guy like Morgan Rielly, who will likely be sold for scraps, if anything. He’s only 31 with four years left at $7,500,000, making Detroit one of the few teams that could take him on. Admittedly, basically every analytics site has him as one of the worst defensemen in the league. But that comes with some pretty considerable offensive upside. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s certainly something to look at.

Beyond that, I have all the time in the world for unrestricted free agent Mario Ferraro. He played primarily in San Jose’s bottom four this past season. There, he recorded a 93rd percentile defensive rating and pretty adequate offensive ratings (higher on hockeystats.com and lower on hockeystatcards.com). At 6’0″, 209 pounds I’m certainly comfortable getting him onto the second pair with Justin Faulk for next season.

For me, the ideology remains the same as the trade deadline. If you can’t get a major forward add, look to sure up the blue line. We saw what good bargain bin hunting did at forward with David Perron. The need at forward is certainly more pressing, but a solid depth defenceman will give Detroit more bang for their buck.

Move Multiple Prospects

Detroit has long had a slew of prospects that could fill out the depths of their roster, but at this point in the rebuild, Detroit doesn’t need depth support. With multiple of Detroit’s fringe prospects about to lose their waiver exemption, it’s probably wiser to trade them than to drive them off the lot, only to decrease their value.

Detroit has a handful of names that lose their waiver exemptions next season. Sebastian Cossa and Carter Mazur are probably in the clear, as they have roles on this roster that make sense. But Amadeus Lombardi and William Wallinder are unlikely to make the cut, so why not try to recoup assets? Nate Danielson, Carter Gylander, Shai Buium, and Ondrej Becher are all going to be in the same spot this time next year.

At this point, I think the Red Wings have a pretty good idea of what their roster will look like moving forward. There are really only a few depth spots available, and optimistically, only two or three guys will fill them. Even if it’s simply for late-round draft picks, clear out the excess prospects. At best, use them as parts of a bigger trade to fill the holes in the top of the lineup.

Leverage Cap Space

In all honesty, the most likely outcome is that teams manage to lock down their big names. Jason Robertson probably won’t move. Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier will be locked up to big deals, and any team looking to extend a superstar will almost certainly get it done. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be player movement.

If Dallas is going to keep Robertson, Mavrik Bourque becomes a legitimate option as a cap casualty to be acquired. Florida is in a similar position to Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodriguez. There are plenty of ways to add legitimate talent to the Red Wings roster because of salary restrictions. It just may not mean Detroit adding a superstar.

I have plenty of time for reclamation projects like Elias Pettersson or Morgan Rielly. This team needs talent, even if it has its flaws. A lot of the talented players that are on the market right now are there due to cap-related reasons.

Unfortunately, Detroit doesn’t have a ton of valuable assets they’d be willing to move. It seems as though you’re either part of the core or simply not good. To get talent, you gotta use your best assets, and right now, Detroit’s is their cap space.

More to Read

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