This
Off-Season has seen the Detroit Red Wings pop-up a lot, be it in rumours of
chasing down lucrative free agents, trade rumours, or Nicklas Lidstrom's
retirement. So let's take a look back at what the Red Wings have been up to
this summer.
Nicklas
Lidstrom's Retirement
On May
31st, 2012 Nicklas Lidstrom announced his retirement from the NHL after 20
productive seasons. Many consider him to be one of the Greatest Defensemen of
All Time. In his retirement press conference Lidstrom said, "Retiring
today allows me to walk away from the game with pride, rather than have the
game walk away from me."
Losing a legend like Lidstrom was a huge blow to the Wings as he is simply
irreplaceable (something I covered earlier in this article). It was very sad to
see Lidstrom retire, but he has given Detroit fans (4 cups!) a lot of good
memories and it’s always good to see someone retire on their terms.
NHL Entry
Draft
On June
22 and 23rd the NHL had their 50th annual Entry Draft. With their first pick in
the 2nd round (they gave up their 1st round pick last season for Defensemen
Kyle Quincey) Detroit selected Martin Frk. He's had some injury problems that
caused his draft stock to drop, but if he can healthily recover Detroit could
have gotten a steal of a deal at the draft.
Departing
Players and New Faces
With the
NHL Free Agency opening on July 1st 2012 Detroit said "Hello" to some
new players, "Welcome Back" to others, and good-bye to some others.
Defensemen Brad Stuart left the Wings to move closer to his family and play for
the San Jose Sharks. Losing Stuart is a huge blow to Detroit's blue-line
considering how Lidstrom retired and Brian Rafalski left last year.
Jiri
Hudler also left the Wings to head to Calgary. To address Hudler's departure
Detroit brought back Mikael Samuelsson signing him from Florida. Samuelsson has
as good of a shot as Hudler and despite being older has a lot more experience
and strength on the puck.
Detroit
also signed former enemy Jordin Tootoo. Signing the ex-Nashville enforcer was a
step outside Detroit's comfort zone, but if Tootoo can stay out of off-ice
trouble his grittiness and occasional point-production could be much welcomed
to the club.
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| Gustavsson in his new jersey |
Detroit
was able to sign ex-Maple Leafs goalie Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson was a
bright prospect goaltender, but that bright light was dimmed by the horrible
Toronto squad he played behind. Gustavsson seemed thrilled to be signed by the
Wings saying, "It’s a great team … and I’m real excited to go there."
Though it looks as if he'll be the backup to Jimmy Howard, Gustavsson's
eagerness to play on a good team could see him battle for the number one roll.
Hopefully he and Jimmy Howard can push each other and by stepping up their game
alleviate some of the stress that will be pushed on to Detroit's remaining
blue-liners.
It was
also announced that Grand Rapids Griffin's Star Defensemen Brendan Smith will
be playing be moving up to the NHL with the Red Wings. Last year he tallied 7
points in 14 games. Detroit also signed Swiss Superstar Damien Brunner. The
Left Winger is known for his high speed and flashy offence. It will be
interesting to see how he transitions to the North American game.
Rumoured
Free Agent Signings
Detroit
missed out on the Marquee Free Agent Signings in Ryan Suter (who went to
Minnesota) and Alexander Semin (who went to Carolina). While they were pursuing
Suter they also missed out on some other defensemen in Jay Garrison (who headed
to Vancouver) and Sami Salo and Matt Carle (who both headed to Tampa Bay, Damn
you Stevie Yzerman! Wow I never thought I'd say that). The only signing I'm
actually upset about is the Alexander Semin one. Detroit had lots of cap space
this year and Carolina ended up giving him a $7.5 million 1 year deal. It is a
lot to pay for someone of his work ethic, though I feel being paired with Pavel
Datsyuk could have done wonders for Detroit's offence. I don't feel bad about
Suter going to Minnesota because they over paid huge for him. Same with Salo
and Carle, Tampa Bay offered them quite lucrative deals. Vancouver kind of sniped
Garrison from under Detroit's noses, but at that time it was heavily rumoured
that Ryan Suter would be signing with Detroit.
In
un-signed Free Agent news, Detroit has had ties with Shane Doan (though just
about every team in the league has had some rumour involving Doan). In my mind
Doan is a better version of Todd Bertuzzi and throwing him on the top line with
Datsyuk with Franzen on the wing would make for a terrifying line.
More
recently Detroit has been rumoured to offer Unrestricted Free Agent defenseman Carlo
Colaiacovo a 2 year contract. Carlo is a serviceable second or third line
defenseman, and this signing would be a good move to try and solidify Detroit’s
blue-line after the some big departures.
Trade
Rumours
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| Despite how well he plays, Filppula's name always comes up in trade rumours |
The Wings’
name has also popped up in trade rumours around the league. Detroit reportedly offered
“a hell of a deal” for Columbus’ Rick Nash, however Columbus GM refused to
trade Nash to a divisional rival and opted to trade with the New York Rangers.
The deal was rumoured to include Filppula or Franzen, and Darren Helm, and a
prospect. Many fans were glad Detroit didn’t execute this trade to get Nash.
The two other players that Detroit has been linked to were Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan
and Phoenix’s Keith Yandle. Both of these players would likely take a steep
price like Franzen or Filppula and a top prospect. Bobby Ryan is a big right
handed shot who can score 30+ goals a season and Keith Yandle is one of the
finest young defensemen in the league. Detroit’s lack of right handed shooters
and need for another first pairing defensemen make both of these trades
interesting options.
This next season certainly looks like a new chapter in the history of the Detroit Red Wings which makes the anticipation for the CBA talks to finish and season to start even greater. Go Wings!
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This next season certainly looks like a new chapter in the history of the Detroit Red Wings which makes the anticipation for the CBA talks to finish and season to start even greater. Go Wings!
