Follow me on Twitter
Larkin made it clear he wanted to see an add from the TDL. On the other side of it, the players that would have helped had asks that started with a 1st round pick. The prices were insane, but heading into summer there may be a way to address these issues. Today we focus on the D.
With the Griffins winning their final game (actually only needed one point) they won’t hit the ice again for 8 days. Detroit is in the middle of exit interviews and fans are either tuning in to playoffs or tuning out. With so much time on our hands, it’s a great time to start to look at next year’s improvement. We’ll do some draft breakdowns later, but the immediate boost Detroit needs comes in the form of defense.
There seem to be 4 routes the team could go and we’ll take a look at each. First, let’s look at the departures:
Petry and Lagesson are both UFAs.
Johansson is an RFA that should be brought back
Chiarot has one year left at 4.75m
Holl has one year left at 3.4m
Gustafsson has one year left at 2m
In terms of the least fiscally impactful buyout, Gustafsson’s 2m would be broken up over 2 seasons. In terms of fans clearly being done with a defenseman, Holl’s 3.4m is on the top of the list. Gustafsson could easily be waived and you’d have the spot and the same savings. So get those 2 out and move Chiarot down (way down). So let’s assume 2 spots open up leaving Seider, Edvinsson, Chiarot and Johansson.
Assuming that Seider and Edvinsson start the season together, put Johansson on the left side. His play continues to pick up, but it may be a bit much to put a rookie on his line. Let’s assume that Sandin-Pellikka manages a break through and grabs a spot. IF that’s the case the team could likely start him on the 3rd pairing with Chiarot. That would put Tuomisto as a possibility to be on a line with Johansson. Dress 7 D and you’re looking at Wallinder or Buium. This all got mixed up toward the end of the year as Buium seemed to find his game and his physicality picked up. You also have another Johansson in Anton who can be pretty beastly himself. A J2 line? So there’s already a log jam with prospects and Tuomisto is an RFA with arbitration. (Viro is an RFA without).
This is where we look at trades or offer sheets.
Pro Hockey Rumors did a write up on who they feel could be potential offer sheet targets. While in the past this felt like a waste of time, last summer showed St. Louis benefit and Edmonton went ahead and let a couple of players go. The combination of the salary cap and upcoming space needed could cause similar issues. The first name that came up is a Dman who had a breakout last year in the playoffs for Edmonton in Evan Bouchard. This quote is taken directly from the article:
Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard is one defenseman whose contract situation could become problematic. The Oilers know they will likely need to get to eight figures to retain Bouchard. However, you’d never guess that by the predicament they are in when it comes to the summer. The Oilers are projected to have just $13.5MM in cap space, with 18 players signed for next season. If Bouchard were to sign for $10MM, it would leave Edmonton with just $3.5MM to sign four players, meaning it could pay just the league minimum to fill out its depth.
Detroit is listed as having 21+m in space next year but Kane’s got some bonuses that will eat into that. Assuming some sort of dispatch of Holl and Gustafsson, ad just short of 3m back in but there’s a problem. To get Bouchard he’d have to be willing to leave a cup contender and he’d have to be your top paid defenseman. This seems unlikely as Detroit is also very hesitant with signing bonuses right now and someone will open up the coffers if the big man is willing to listen.
While Dobson is mentioned there’s no part of me that thinks the Isles won’t match any offer. The name that’s incredibly interesting is the Ranger’s K’andre Miller. Again, from the article:
New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller is another name to watch. The Rangers will look to retain the defender, but there is no suitable replacement for their left side. The 24-year-old brings a solid combination of mobility, size, and offensive capabilities and is an ideal second-pairing defenseman. The problem for the Rangers is that they have just $9.67MM in cap space with 18 players signed and will have to sign a handful of other RFAs. If a team were willing to go to $6MM for Miller, they could likely pluck Miller loose from the Rangers for a first and third-round pick. However, it seems unlikely a team would do that with the strength of next year’s entry draft and the warts in Miller’s game.
He’s averaging over 20 minutes per night and the article has 6m as a possible winning number though the acquisition of his negotiating rights is fairly pricey at a 1st and a 3rd. Still, this is a player that could slot in on the 2nd line with Sandin-Pellikka (if he garners that spot). This is one that has me a bit more optimistic in terms of possibility. The Rangers are frustrated. They had a first overall and second overall pick that haven’t moved the needle as much as hoped.
To be perfectly clear, there may not be a path to any of the RFAs for Detroit in particular, but it’s interesting to see the names that are being tossed around at this point. Now we have trades and free agents.
Trade possibility (?) with Edmonton needing to re sign Bouchard and McDavid’s next deal coming it at least begs the question as to whether the issue that sent Walman out of town (whatever it was, speculation is worthless at this point) has passed and McLellan could easily make the case to bring back the blue liner. Big IF. While I do think the Trade market will be busy, anyone with control (NTC etc) seems to want to be anywhere but Detroit.
Free Agents:
Aaron Ekblad - in what seemed like an unlikely shift, Ekblad’s name was in the trade mill before a lengthy suspension last year. At 29 the right shot Dman has plenty of physicality available but salary and the willingness to step into a rebuild may both be a hinderance. This is a player a few of you wanted to see Detroit take a look at. He’s coming off of a 7.5m salary and would be leaving a recent cup winner.
Dante Fabbro - when this player hit waivers it was a bit of a shock. Fabbro found an ideal situation in CBJ and has expressed interest in potentially staying with the club. At 27 the right shot Dman is coming off of a 2.5m deal. His stats and playing style may be similar to what Sandin-Pellikka could bring to the table
Ivan Provorov - this is a name that came up in the comments quite a bit. Left shot D with good physicality, 28 and coming off of a 6.75m deal. Plays just over 18 minutes a night.
The bottom line:
There are fans that want to see Grand Rapids faces in blue line spaces. With Tuomisto needing to be qualified and being the top contributing Dman at 6’4” and a right shot (3g, 24a) it seems like he will have the first open spot. Sandin-Pellikka has eyes on him and a lot of steam. There are 2 spots open assuming that Holl and Gustafsson are both either waived, one bought out or traded (seems unlikely). If they found a way to move on from Chiarot it’s doubtful there would be any hard feelings.
If Detroit brings someone in, they need to be defensively sound and physical. The PK was dreadful and that needs to change. Let me know where you’re at on this. Should the team focus internally, or should they try to acquire at least one outside player to boost the blue line? Regardless, upgrades are available and playoff performances could make for some interesting conversations.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»
