- Feb 29, 2020
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There’s a lot of justifiable frustration going around the board after the way this season ended, Larkin’s comments, Yzerman’s lack of deadline moves in 2024 and 2025 as well as lackluster offseasons. I want to discuss what YOU would do to turn this team around.
I personally feel like the top 5 forwards and top 2 defensemen of this team are a great foundation, and when they’re running on all cylinders they can hang with the best teams in the league. The problem is the complete lack of depth to back them up. The wings lost 40 GF from 23-24 to 24-25 but their GA only dropped by 14. In a word, that’s awful.
Needs I think can/will be filled internally next season:
Bottom line RW - Mazur. He’s someone I can imagine making an impact with minimal ice time. He’s a very efficient player.
2nd pair RD - ASP (his smarts jump off the screen. Pairing him with Edvinsson would be a good start.
3rd line center - Danielson. I don’t see how he could be any worse than Copp or Compher both statistically and in on-ice impact.
3rd string goalie - Cossa. I hope he comes in so hot that Yzerman is forced to send one of Mrazek or Talbot to Grand Rapids.
The unfilled needs as I see them:
Top 4 left defenseman to play with Seider. Chiarot ain’t it. Chiarot is a great #5 but not who we need playing top pair.
Top 6 left winger that can hit at least 25 goals. No more Ras/Copp/Compher/Tank on Larkin’s line.
Top 9 right winger that can hit at least 15 goals. No more Ras/Tank/Compher stinking up the joint here either.
Bottom pair right defenseman. No more Holl or Petry, please.
Bottom line LW (preferably the ultra physical type). Rasmussen ain’t it. And if Compher is pushed this far down the lineup he’s as bland as can be.
So what do I do with the 21 million in space Detroit has?
Top 4 D: If LA and Gavrikov are at an impass then I offer one of our 3rds or a 4th for the right to negotiate with him. He had a top 30 rated impact as a defenseman this season and even though he’s 29 I’m OK with throwing big money at him. Give him 6+ years, 7.5 to 8.25 mil. Before people bash this consider that he’s one of the top shutdown D in the NHL. The Kings also aren’t short space to sign him with only about 71 mil committed to next season. Adding a player like him next to Seider would be like Boston adding Lindholm next to McAvoy in terms of on-ice impact.
Backup option: Trade for Hampus Lindholm if the price is right. Maybe Cam Fowler if St. Louis wants to ship him? Top 4 D is an absolute must for this team to be successful.
Top 6 LW: Next, as much as I’d love Marner to play with Larkin and Raymond to play keep away I think there’s a good chance he ends up on the west coast. Lots of teams with lots of space. Marner on LA next to Kopitar and Kempe turns that team into a contender. Winnipeg has a ton of space left and I expect them to make it to the conference finals this year so they might be more free with their money than usual, so Ehlers probably sticks around.
So where does that leave Detroit? Definitely re-sign Kane, then make a play for one of Boeser or Marchand, or both. Maybe sign Sam Bennett or Mikael Granlund to be 2C and move Kasper to 1st line LW again until Danielson is ready? (I think that will be sooner than many of you believe) That gives the Wings some scoring oomph and flexibility. If that doesn’t work I start banging on doors and offering up picks. Kadri in Calgary? Yeah, yeah, I know. He’s old and has a few more years on his deal. He’s also still really good and has the won’t-take-shit attitude this team needs. Or maybe LA and Fiala want to part ways?
Top 9 W: I’d say sign Jack Roslovic but he seems to do half of his scoring against Detroit. He’d be a good option for flexibility. Anthony Beauvillier is still in his 20s and brings a lot of the stuff that Fabbri brought only with better defense. Can play 2nd line in a pinch and kills penalties pretty well if my memory is correct.
Bottom pair RD: Fabbro. 4 years, 4 to 4.5 mil. He’s a puck moving #4 type and can push Johansson to the 7th D spot for next year. No shade to AlJo, but if you can have a guy like Fabbro on your bottom pair then you’re doing OK. Backup options are veteran Luke Schenn (wish we could have picked him up for a 4th at the TDL…) Nick Perbix could be a value add. Rutta is low impact and won’t block a kid from a spot. Or…Cody Ceci who gets pin balled around the league?
Bottom line LW: Assuming Copp and Mazur are both healthy enough to start the year I’d like to get someone that’s ACTUALLY hard nosed to play against. Jeanott isn’t going to provide much scoring but he’s tough and hard to play against. If he gets 17-25 points then he’d be a successful signing.
Cuts to make:
Compher - There’s gotta be a taker. Nashville, NYI, San Jose, Chicago. Teams with space and low depth.
Tank - See above. With the cap floor at 71 mil next season this should make it easier to move him.
Rasmussen - It’s not a must-move, but he’s the very definition of vanilla 4th liner. I’d rather give his spot to Jeannott
Holl - Trebuchet ammo. In Grand Rapids, bought out or given away for future considerations. I don’t care.
Gus - See above.
Berggren - traded. He’s got the makings of a bad team scorer. Maybe someone out west could use him?
Petry - DO NOT RE-SIGN HIM, YZERMAN!
Jettisoning Compher, Tank, Ras, Holl and Gus is 18.45 mil. + the 21 mil in space. So in total about 40 mil in space.
My free agent signings are going to cost 8 for Gavrikov + 5.5 for Kane + 7.5 for Boeser + 3 for Jeannott + 4 for Fabbro + 3.5 for Beauvillier. 31.5 mil.
8.5 mil in space and the only significant RFAs are AlJo and Elmer.
5 needs. 5 players. If the Wings can address no less than 3 of them I think they can get into the postseason in 25-26. All 5 and they’re dangerous. It’s not going to be easy but Yzerman needs to make it happen, even if it requires “significant roster surgery.” Make it happen.
So…what do you do?
I personally feel like the top 5 forwards and top 2 defensemen of this team are a great foundation, and when they’re running on all cylinders they can hang with the best teams in the league. The problem is the complete lack of depth to back them up. The wings lost 40 GF from 23-24 to 24-25 but their GA only dropped by 14. In a word, that’s awful.
Needs I think can/will be filled internally next season:
Bottom line RW - Mazur. He’s someone I can imagine making an impact with minimal ice time. He’s a very efficient player.
2nd pair RD - ASP (his smarts jump off the screen. Pairing him with Edvinsson would be a good start.
3rd line center - Danielson. I don’t see how he could be any worse than Copp or Compher both statistically and in on-ice impact.
3rd string goalie - Cossa. I hope he comes in so hot that Yzerman is forced to send one of Mrazek or Talbot to Grand Rapids.
The unfilled needs as I see them:
Top 4 left defenseman to play with Seider. Chiarot ain’t it. Chiarot is a great #5 but not who we need playing top pair.
Top 6 left winger that can hit at least 25 goals. No more Ras/Copp/Compher/Tank on Larkin’s line.
Top 9 right winger that can hit at least 15 goals. No more Ras/Tank/Compher stinking up the joint here either.
Bottom pair right defenseman. No more Holl or Petry, please.
Bottom line LW (preferably the ultra physical type). Rasmussen ain’t it. And if Compher is pushed this far down the lineup he’s as bland as can be.
So what do I do with the 21 million in space Detroit has?
Top 4 D: If LA and Gavrikov are at an impass then I offer one of our 3rds or a 4th for the right to negotiate with him. He had a top 30 rated impact as a defenseman this season and even though he’s 29 I’m OK with throwing big money at him. Give him 6+ years, 7.5 to 8.25 mil. Before people bash this consider that he’s one of the top shutdown D in the NHL. The Kings also aren’t short space to sign him with only about 71 mil committed to next season. Adding a player like him next to Seider would be like Boston adding Lindholm next to McAvoy in terms of on-ice impact.
Backup option: Trade for Hampus Lindholm if the price is right. Maybe Cam Fowler if St. Louis wants to ship him? Top 4 D is an absolute must for this team to be successful.
Top 6 LW: Next, as much as I’d love Marner to play with Larkin and Raymond to play keep away I think there’s a good chance he ends up on the west coast. Lots of teams with lots of space. Marner on LA next to Kopitar and Kempe turns that team into a contender. Winnipeg has a ton of space left and I expect them to make it to the conference finals this year so they might be more free with their money than usual, so Ehlers probably sticks around.
So where does that leave Detroit? Definitely re-sign Kane, then make a play for one of Boeser or Marchand, or both. Maybe sign Sam Bennett or Mikael Granlund to be 2C and move Kasper to 1st line LW again until Danielson is ready? (I think that will be sooner than many of you believe) That gives the Wings some scoring oomph and flexibility. If that doesn’t work I start banging on doors and offering up picks. Kadri in Calgary? Yeah, yeah, I know. He’s old and has a few more years on his deal. He’s also still really good and has the won’t-take-shit attitude this team needs. Or maybe LA and Fiala want to part ways?
Top 9 W: I’d say sign Jack Roslovic but he seems to do half of his scoring against Detroit. He’d be a good option for flexibility. Anthony Beauvillier is still in his 20s and brings a lot of the stuff that Fabbri brought only with better defense. Can play 2nd line in a pinch and kills penalties pretty well if my memory is correct.
Bottom pair RD: Fabbro. 4 years, 4 to 4.5 mil. He’s a puck moving #4 type and can push Johansson to the 7th D spot for next year. No shade to AlJo, but if you can have a guy like Fabbro on your bottom pair then you’re doing OK. Backup options are veteran Luke Schenn (wish we could have picked him up for a 4th at the TDL…) Nick Perbix could be a value add. Rutta is low impact and won’t block a kid from a spot. Or…Cody Ceci who gets pin balled around the league?
Bottom line LW: Assuming Copp and Mazur are both healthy enough to start the year I’d like to get someone that’s ACTUALLY hard nosed to play against. Jeanott isn’t going to provide much scoring but he’s tough and hard to play against. If he gets 17-25 points then he’d be a successful signing.
Cuts to make:
Compher - There’s gotta be a taker. Nashville, NYI, San Jose, Chicago. Teams with space and low depth.
Tank - See above. With the cap floor at 71 mil next season this should make it easier to move him.
Rasmussen - It’s not a must-move, but he’s the very definition of vanilla 4th liner. I’d rather give his spot to Jeannott
Holl - Trebuchet ammo. In Grand Rapids, bought out or given away for future considerations. I don’t care.
Gus - See above.
Berggren - traded. He’s got the makings of a bad team scorer. Maybe someone out west could use him?
Petry - DO NOT RE-SIGN HIM, YZERMAN!
Jettisoning Compher, Tank, Ras, Holl and Gus is 18.45 mil. + the 21 mil in space. So in total about 40 mil in space.
My free agent signings are going to cost 8 for Gavrikov + 5.5 for Kane + 7.5 for Boeser + 3 for Jeannott + 4 for Fabbro + 3.5 for Beauvillier. 31.5 mil.
8.5 mil in space and the only significant RFAs are AlJo and Elmer.
5 needs. 5 players. If the Wings can address no less than 3 of them I think they can get into the postseason in 25-26. All 5 and they’re dangerous. It’s not going to be easy but Yzerman needs to make it happen, even if it requires “significant roster surgery.” Make it happen.
So…what do you do?
