Detroit Red Wings: 3 free agent forwards Steve Yzerman should sign
By Bob Heyrman
Detroit Red Wings general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman has been quite busy trying to overhaul a roster of ashes left behind by Ken Holland. Here are three free-agent forwards to consider signing.
It’s been a hectic offseason for GM Steve Yzerman as he continues to add new faces to a franchise that’s in dire need of a blood transfusion. Surely when Yzerman opted to re-join the Detroit Red Wings organization as the teams’ GM, he knew there’d be plenty of work to do; I don’t think anyone expected that Detroit would be as bad as they were last year.
2019 had been a historically bad year for the Red Wings. They finished last in nearly every category possible. Last in goals scored, last in goals against, an atrocious power-play, and equally embarrassing penalty kill.
The good news…things can only go up from here.
You could successfully argue that the Detroit Red Wings’ best offseason moves to date have been addition by subtraction.
The Red Wings opted to finally buyout forward Justin Abdelkader, a move that has been a long time coming. Detroit also was freed of the franchise hampering contracts of Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, and Johan Franzen. Yzerman also elected to move on from restricted free agent defenseman Madison Bowey.
Yzerman has since started to replenish the Red Wings roster with low-risk, low salaried players with some positive upside. Detroit brought back Adam Erne and Sam Gagner both for under a million dollars. The Red Wings signed veteran forward Bobby Ryan to a one-year, $1 million reclamation-type opportunity. Yzerman also added an intriguing forward in Vladislav Namestnikov, who happens to be the nephew of former Red Wing Slava Kozlov.
The organization also solved their goaltender vacancy left by Howard by bringing in Thomas Greiss on a two-year deal that averages just $3.6 million per season. Yzerman landed a second-round pick in the upcoming 2021 NHL Entry Level Draft to finance veteran defenseman Marc Staal’s $5.7 million deal with just one year remaining on it.
Yzerman has also re-tooled the Detroit Red Wings defense corps by adding Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher in free agency.
Now, Yzerman still has time to improve this roster via free agency. Here are three forwards to consider signing.