Detroit Red Wings: 6 Free Agent forwards to strongly consider signing
By Bob Heyrman
Today is the day. The NHL free agency period will officially begin Wednesday, July 28th. I don’t expect the Detroit Red Wings to be big-time players in free agency. Still, there are certainly some unrestricted free agents general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman needs to consider.
The Detroit Red Wings have an abundance of salary-cap space, according to CapFriendly, approximately $37-million heading into the free agency period.
That being said, the organization still has decisions to make regarding restricted free agents Jakub Vrana, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, and Filip Hronek. I expect all to be retained, and that will surely make a bit of a dent on the salary cap, but even after everyone mentioned is locked up, the Red Wings will still have more money than most at their disposal.
I don’t expect Yzerman to spend foolishly. The Red Wings are still rebuilding and will be looking to insert the likes of Lucas Raymond, Joseph Veleno, Givani Smith, and Jonatan Berggren up front this season, even if it’s on a trial basis. Let’s also not rule out a return of Luke Glendening or Sam Gagner.
On the backend, look for Moritz Seider, Gustav Lindstrom, and Wyatt Newpower to all get a similar look. I hope the Red Wings allow these young players to get their feet wet at the NHL level, and if they prove they can hold their weight, allow them to remain for the duration of the season.
In a perfect world, all four forwards and the first two defenders mentioned make it from the get-go. If Newpower pushes for an opening day roster spot, that will just be the cherry on top for the Red Wings.
As it stands now, the Detroit Red Wings have eight sure-bet forwards that will start opening night if healthy and barring a trade.
- Dylan Larkin
- Tyler Bertuzzi
- Jakub Vrana
- Michael Rasmussen
- Robby Fabbri
- Filip Zadina
- Vladislav Namestnikov
- Adam Erne
That leaves players such as Givani Smith, Joseph Veleno, Frans Nielsen, Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren, and Taro Hirose, plus whoever the organization signs in free agency to compete for the final four starting jobs plus a couple of the reserve roles.
On the backend, I think things are fairly straightforward. Again, if healthy, I expect the Red Wings to lineup with these seven defensemen rostered on opening night.
- Filip Hronek
- Nick Leddy
- Marc Staal
- Danny DeKeyser
- Troy Stecher
- Moritz Seider
- Gustav Lindstrom
In goal, it will be the recently added Alex Nedeljkovic and veteran Thomas Greiss sharing the duties.