What Should Detroit Prioritize in Free Agency this Summer?

[SirloinUB]

Looking at some 5 on 5 stats for the leafs/panthers series:

• Marner created essentially no scoring chances for himself. He ranked 10th among forwards for 5on5 chances for/60
• He led the way in chances created for others ranking 1st among forwards for 5on5 chance assists/60.

Do with this info what you well.

My personal opinion is having Kane and Marner is a little redundant. Kane probably has a little more killer instinct and goal scoring to his game. Marner brings more two way play and is the better puck possession guy at this point. Im not opposed to having both but Tarasenko would definitely need to be moved/bought out

 

[FMichael]

Looking at some 5 on 5 stats for the leafs/panthers series:

• Marner created essentially no scoring chances for himself. He ranked 10th among forwards for 5on5 chances for/60
• He led the way in chances created for others ranking 1st among forwards for 5on5 chance assists/60.

Do with this info what you well.

My personal opinion is having Kane and Marner is a little redundant. Kane probably has a little more killer instinct and goal scoring to his game. Marner brings more two way play and is the better puck possession guy at this point. Im not opposed to having both but Tarasenko would definitely need to be moved/bought out

I honestly don't care at this point about his crappy numbers in playoff hockey...I'm looking as though he'll be a big help in getting the Red Wings into the post season...Then go from there.

 

[datsyukfan]

Looking at some 5 on 5 stats for the leafs/panthers series:

• Marner created essentially no scoring chances for himself. He ranked 10th among forwards for 5on5 chances for/60
• He led the way in chances created for others ranking 1st among forwards for 5on5 chance assists/60.

Do with this info what you well.

My personal opinion is having Kane and Marner is a little redundant. Kane probably has a little more killer instinct and goal scoring to his game. Marner brings more two way play and is the better puck possession guy at this point. Im not opposed to having both but Tarasenko would definitely need to be moved/bought out

I mean if he’s involved in creating chances then I really don’t care, he’s a playmaker and we have 3 guys in the top 6 currently that are pretty good goal scorers (cat, Larkin, Raymond) and let’s also not act like Kane doesn’t have good finishing ability because he does. If Marner creates a tun of chances for others than I’m really happy because at the end of the day it’s creating a bunch more chances for the team and that’s what actually matters

 

[MabusIncarnate]

I know it's unrealistic but I don't want Marner at this point. I get this feeling when we do make playoffs Larkin is gonna vanish like he does end season and we don't need another playoff non-producer.

 

[MabusIncarnate]

I honestly don't care at this point about his crappy numbers in playoff hockey...I'm looking as though he'll be a big help in getting the Red Wings into the post season...Then go from there.

Maybe we can be the next team out in the first round 6-7 years in a row.

Sorry, I don't want to just make playoffs and go 4-5 games and out. I see no point.

 

[jkutswings]

Maybe we can be the next team out in the first round 6-7 years in a row.

Sorry, I don't want to just make playoffs and go 4-5 games and out. I see no point.

I don't think anybody is saying they would be ok with being a perennial first round exit.

Detroit does not have enough talent with what's on the roster, even adding what's in the immediate pipeline. People just disagree with where/how to supplement it.

I think Marner COULD work here.
I think another team will make him an insane offer and Detroit won't get a chance to find out.

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

I don't think anybody is saying they would be ok with being a perennial first round exit.

Detroit does not have enough talent with what's on the roster, even adding what's in the immediate pipeline. People just disagree with where/how to supplement it.

I think Marner COULD work here.
I think another team will make him an insane offer and Detroit won't get a chance to find out.

Sure marner could work here . If we didn’t have a bunch of pu**ies on the roster who get pushed around by the other teams all the time ... oh wait

 

[ShanahanMan]

Friendly reminder to those who don’t think we need Marner because “he’s not a play off performer”.

Our team has finished once again bottom 5 in the league for goals scored 5 on 5.

We need scorers.

 

[datsyukfan]

Friendly reminder to those who don’t think we need Marner because “he’s not a play off performer”.

Our team has finished once again bottom 5 in the league for goals scored 5 on 5.

We need scorers.

You need to actually get to the playoffs before we start worrying about what happens in them

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

Friendly reminder to those who don’t think we need Marner because “he’s not a play off performer”.

Our team has finished once again bottom 5 in the league for goals scored 5 on 5.

We need scorers.

We also need guys above 6 feet tall. Defensemen and a goalie

Lots on needs on this team

 

[Redwing66]

Every year we pine for greater talent, each off season or trade deadline the cost is too great or the player doesn’t fit what we are looking for - sign a stud if he wants to call Detroit home. Not tough enough, not tall enough… I’d take 3 DeBrincats - if Marner is available and wants to sign you’d better do it.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

I hope NY Rangers will sign Marner, just because they have to get a new star, and then they have force a lot of cap out.

Yzerman trades just peanuts for Panarin to play with Kane, and we move on. Maybe Kreider comes at same package.

You rather trade assets to get Panarin over just signing Marner? Huh?

 

[deca guard]

BULTMAN COMMENTS ON WHAT UFA HE THINKS DETROIT WILL MAKE OFFERS TO

 

[Henkka]

You rather trade assets to get Panarin over just signing Marner? Huh?

But if Marner just says no to us. Then you have to be creative with plan B. Rangers would go something like 15 million over the cap, so they are forced to trade unsuccessful people out and then it could be a bargain.

And yeah, it would be totally stupid to do from Rangers, and I'm sceptical they are after Marner, but it's still the Rangers. They will do weird things.

 

[Henkka]

What comes to Florida capspace, that team has pretty good situation to go for next season.

I think they could extend both Bennet and Ekblad, because they have 19M in cap space. There has been a team culture to take team-friendly deals from Barkov, Verhaege, Tkachuck, Forsling.... all are doing it. I think those core guys won't hit the free agency. They just like to stay on the possible DYNASTY. Who woudn't?

Only if Marchand will walk, they can match everybody else under the cap, pretty easily.

That team is really damn strong.

 

[lilidk]

Just trade Larkin and Cat for picks , start new rebuild and hope for better. Just hope we already have or pick guys similar to Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Point , Tom Wilson.
Guys like Kane , Stemkos, Tavares don't have it anymore. And maybe it is time for Yzerman to go and bring new ideas , he rebuild fundament under this organization, we no longer have bad long contracts, we should say thanks to each other and move on

 

[TheOctopusKid]

When you are not one of the following: a destination city, tax-exempt, or highly competitive, free agency becomes a bit of a crap shoot. This is not as simple as "Give him money!". Many of the names we are fantasizing about, more than likely they are not even considering DET as a possibility.

Our advantage since we cleaned house from all the bloat, is that we can offer more money than other teams. If you're a good free agent, you're getting top dollar from the teams you want regardless. So if you're a top flight free agent, and care about competing for a Cup or having a stable, veteran locker room where you don't have to do a lot of leading, etc., or you want a big city with lots of amenities, you're not signing with us.

Maybe...maybe this year we have enough talent on our team where a high caliber free agent might take a chance with an overpayment (Boeser, Ehlers - level); but I don't think that Marner is truly realistic unless he's wired to a very specific thing about us. I don't think we're going to be the best financial offer, we are not going to be the nicest or most fun market, and we're certainly not going to be the most competitive team. Maybe some combination of: 'I still want to be near Toronto', 'I want at least 14M+ a year', 'I want the team to have great young defenseman' - might put us in the convo? But it seems super unlikely.

To point of this is, every year we talk about all the top free agents in the class and then get bummed when we sign B-Tier FAs at slight overpayments. That's kind of what we need to do if we want these guys to sign with us right now. I hope this year is better given how much we've grown from 2022, 2023, etc. The trend of going from no-name guys looking for an opportunity or one prove-it chance (Suter, Namesnikov, etc.) to overpaid middle tier (Copp, Comphere, Ghost, etc.) - hopefully this is the year where we get a guy in their prime looking to win and seeing the Wings as the legitimate choice in that.

I'm reminded of an old Eddie Izzard joke where children we're saying what their dreams were and it was "Hey, you're British. Lower your expectations a bit.", kind of feels like that.

 

[SirloinUB]

When you are not one of the following: a destination city, tax-exempt, or highly competitive, free agency becomes a bit of a crap shoot. This is not as simple as "Give him money!". Many of the names we are fantasizing about, more than likely they are not even considering DET as a possibility.

Our advantage since we cleaned house from all the bloat, is that we can offer more money than other teams. If you're a good free agent, you're getting top dollar from the teams you want regardless. So if you're a top flight free agent, and care about competing for a Cup or having a stable, veteran locker room where you don't have to do a lot of leading, etc., or you want a big city with lots of amenities, you're not signing with us.

Maybe...maybe this year we have enough talent on our team where a high caliber free agent might take a chance with an overpayment (Boeser, Ehlers - level); but I don't think that Marner is truly realistic unless he's wired to a very specific thing about us. I don't think we're going to be the best financial offer, we are not going to be the nicest or most fun market, and we're certainly not going to be the most competitive team. Maybe some combination of: 'I still want to be near Toronto', 'I want at least 14M+ a year', 'I want the team to have great young defenseman' - might put us in the convo? But it seems super unlikely.

To point of this is, every year we talk about all the top free agents in the class and then get bummed when we sign B-Tier FAs at slight overpayments. That's kind of what we need to do if we want these guys to sign with us right now. I hope this year is better given how much we've grown from 2022, 2023, etc. The trend of going from no-name guys looking for an opportunity or one prove-it chance (Suter, Namesnikov, etc.) to overpaid middle tier (Copp, Comphere, Ghost, etc.) - hopefully this is the year where we get a guy in their prime looking to win and seeing the Wings as the legitimate choice in that.

I'm reminded of an old Eddie Izzard joke where children we're saying what their dreams were and it was "Hey, you're British. Lower your expectations a bit.", kind of feels like that.

For the record, I agree with you.

I often think about Johnny Hockey (Rest in Peace) signing for 11.63% of the cap in Columbus. It was close to home but it wasn't home. Columbus wasn't exactly competitive.

Hopefully Marner will do something similar with us but I'm keeping my expectations low haha.

 

[stillwater]

Just trade Larkin and Cat for picks , start new rebuild and hope for better. Just hope we already have or pick guys similar to Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Point , Tom Wilson.
Guys like Kane , Stemkos, Tavares don't have it anymore. And maybe it is time for Yzerman to go and bring new ideas , he rebuild fundament under this organization, we no longer have bad long contracts, we should say thanks to each other and move on

Are you for real? It's one thing for an NHL team to have to please fans on the other side of an ocean who never buy tickets.

It's quite another to appease the ticket buyers that keep you afloat. It's a really fine line to walk. You trade your best players and nothing comes back, people stop buying tickets. This isn't NHL 25 where you can just start over and it's going to be cool with everyone.

 

[jkutswings]

The point of this is, every year we talk about all the top free agents in the class and then get bummed when we sign B-Tier FAs at slight overpayments.

One could argue that Tank was a B Tier UFA (that then played well below that here). But Holl and Mrazek and Petry and Gustafsson are all looking up at any notion of a B Tier.

For 2025, remove Marner and Bennett as the top forwards and remove Gavrikov and Ekblad on defense. There are still guys who are under 30 and would absolutely improve the roster (Ehlers, Boeser, Provorov, Fabbro).

And that doesn't count the handful of significant RFAs out there (Dobson, Bouchard, Byram, McTavish, Romanov, Hague, Rossi).

The point is: I find it very hard to believe that absolutely zero meaningful players would come to Detroit...if they're willing to pay more than KMart blue light special prices and terms.

 

[JohanFranzenstein]

Detroit can not only throw a bag at Marner, but the city is located so close to his home, especially since he's a new father. Could be a huge factor, instead of uprooting his new family and moving to Chicago.

 

[lilidk]

Are you for real? It's one thing for an NHL team to have to please fans on the other side of an ocean who never buy tickets.

It's quite another to appease the ticket buyers that keep you afloat. It's a really fine line to walk. You trade your best players and nothing comes back, people stop buying tickets. This isn't NHL 25 where you can just start over and it's going to be cool with everyone.

This team going nowhere , we simply become Nashville, sooner we realize it , sooner we start moving right direction. With cap going up and not only players become more expensive, other teams also want to keep important players. Yzerman/Larkin situation also not helping.

 

[Henkka]

Cap sitations at East:

FLO - some cap space, can extend both Bennet+Ekblad, if team-friendly deals, and if so, they will let Marchand walk.
TOR - tight against the cap, will lose either Marner or Tavares or Knies for sure.
TBL - pretty much already set, internal raises will eat the cap space. Will lose irrelevant Perbix or Gourde.
OTT - pretty much already set, no cap space for anything else than internal raises.
MTL - Has 10M of space after expected extensions, but that's based on Price LTIR. Could be forced to leave that space for rookie bonuses for Hutson and Demidov, which could be huge. So basicly, does not have really cap space to add significant UFAs.
DET - has boatload of capspace to hunt for Marner + extras.
BOS - has ~3.5M of cap space after extending expeted RFAs.
BUF - same as Ottawa, pretty much already set, no cap space for anything else than internal RFA raises.

So Detroit pretty much is the only team at Atlantic, who can add. And we can add as high as ~18 million. Boston probably will bring Marchand back.

At Metropolitan division, CAR, PHI, CBJ and PIT have a lot of space, like Wings. PIT is a shinking ship, no one wants to go to Columbus or Carolina. Philadelphia, that could draw people.

WSH, NYR, NJD, NYI are tight against the cap after expected extensions.

Have not looked on the West yet.

 

[stillwater]

This team going nowhere , we simply become Nashville, sooner we realize it , sooner we start moving right direction. With cap going up and not only players become more expensive, other teams also want to keep important players. Yzerman/Larkin situation also not helping.

Can you update the Yzerman/Larkin situation? Has anything new come out in, oh, say 3 weeks?

Nothing will happen with Larkin in all likely hood. Even if he's traded, it won't be for a f***ing draft pick. It will be for someone who can play in the top 6. Get a grip!

 

[TheOctopusKid]

For 2025, remove Marner and Bennett as the top forwards and remove Gavrikov and Ekblad on defense. There are still guys who are under 30 and would absolutely improve the roster (Ehlers, Boeser, Provorov, Fabbro).

The point is: I find it very hard to believe that absolutely zero meaningful players would come to Detroit...if they're willing to pay more than KMart blue light special prices and terms.

I'm not saying no quality players would sign with us, I'm saying the ones with a lot of options probably don't come to us, at least not in the past five years. We didn't offer them much other than opportunity. Maybe this year is different, I hope we do move up from the Tarasenkos/Holls, whatever tier you want to put them at.

If I'm Ehlers, for instance, and the Wings offered him market rate of 8M AAV for 5. There are still 15 other teams with at least 20M in cap right now who would all love to add a 28yr old , 60pt+ 1st Line LW. You don't think someone offers him up 9 for 5? or 10 for 4?; 10 for 6? So he probably have a choice there, because 19 of those teams won't land Mitch Marner and have cash to burn. Marner, Ehlers, Boeser, Nelson... okay... now we're moving back down into that 5th best available forward spot?