Recap of Detroit's Off-Season

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. 

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

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.

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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!