The Detroit Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the ninth-straight season and could be looking to make some significant changes to their roster.
The Red Wings are hoping to not only compete for a playoff spot next season but also make a run. Detroit enters the season with over $21 million in cap space, so the Red Wings can go after big-name players.
Yet, NHL insider Max Bultman of The Athletic links the Red Wings to Florida Panthers star gritty forward Sam Bennett.
“On the free-agent market, I could see Sam Bennett being a meaner version of Kasper in that role, though Bennett is also a natural center,” Bultman wrote. “Do the Red Wings really want to potentially pay $7.5 million on a long-term deal for Bennett, who (while highly impactful) has a career high of 51 points? That’s a deal Detroit would have to be sure about.”
Bultman believes the Red Wings need to add more size to the roster, but also add scoring, which Bennett can do. He’s in the final year of his four-year, $17.7 million deal with the Panthers and will be in line for a raise this summer.
Bennett can play center or left wing for Detroit and adds some grittiness to the roster, which is important. This season, he recorded 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points, while his career-high is 28 goals.
Insider Believes Red Wings Need to Add Size
Entering the offseason, Bultman believes Detroit’s biggest need should be adding size to their forward group.
Every NHL team is coveting big players who can play with an edge and score, which is why Bultman links them to Bennett. But, the insider also believes Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres and Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers could be of interest through trades for the Red Wings.
“There are a few potential fits, but that profile — physical players with offense — is rare in today’s game and highly coveted, so none will be easy to obtain,” Bultman wrote… “Those would be the slam-dunk stylistic fits, in my view. But again, most teams are looking for that type of player, not to trade them away. It’s why smaller wingers tend to fall in the draft, while players with good size, smarts and competitive traits tend to go early. They’re hard to find elsewhere.”
The Red Wings finished the season with a record of 39-35-8 and missed the playoffs for the ninth-straight season.
Red Wings GM Open to Adding a Top Player
Although Detroit is trying to build through the draft and develop players, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is open to making a big splash this summer.
At Detroit’s year-end press conference, Yzerman didn’t rule out the team adding a prominent player in free agency or trade.
“We’ve kind of felt that all along, we’re going to look at any good player — any player that can help us in any role — if there’s a player worthy of spending whatever amount on, that has an interest in playing in Detroit and fits a need for us, absolutely we would try to do that,” Yzerman said on April 29. “We’re in a different stage than we were maybe five years ago in that we have a good young nucleus of players. And if we can add to that with a prominent free agent, we’d certainly entertain that.”
The Red Wings have the cap space to go after the top players in free agency, so Detroit could be a team to watch.
Insider Links Red Wings to Former 28-Goalscorer in Free Agency to Bolster Offense