Red Wings Rumors

2021 NHL Draft Selections By Team

July 24, 2021 at 8:23 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

Today concluded the 2021 NHL Draft, the first edition with 32 teams in the running. Some teams selected just three times (sorry, Toronto), while Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes selected an NHL-record 13 times for a seven-round draft. After all the chaos of last night and today, catch up here on who your team selected and when.

Anaheim Ducks
Round 1, Pick 3: F Mason McTavish
Round 2, Pick 34: D Olen Zellweger
Round 3, Pick 66: F Sasha Pastujov
Round 3, Pick 76 (from CHI via MTL): D Tyson Hinds
Round 4, Pick 98: F Josh Lopina
Round 5, Pick 130: F Sean Tschigerl
Round 5, Pick 148 (from EDM via OTT): G Gage Alexander
Round 6, Pick 162: F Kyle Kukkonen

Arizona Coyotes
Round 1, Pick 9 (from VAN): F Dylan Guenther
Round 2, Pick 37 (from CBJ via OTT): F Josh Doan
Round 2, Pick 43: F Ilya Fedotov
Round 2, Pick 60 (from COL via NYI): D Janis Jerome Moser
Round 4, Pick 107: D Emil Martinsen Lilleberg
Round 4, Pick 122 (from PIT): G Rasmus Korhonen
Round 5, Pick 139: F Manix Landry
Round 6, Pick 171: D Cal Thomas
Round 7, Pick 223 (from MTL via CHI): F Sam Lipkin

Boston Bruins
Round 1, Pick 21: F Fabian Lysell
Round 3, Pick 85: F Brett Harrison
Round 4, Pick 117: G Philip Svedeback
Round 5, Pick 149: F Oskar Jellvik
Round 6, Pick 181: D Ryan Mast
Round 7, Pick 213: F Andre Gasseau
Round 7, Pick 217 (from TOR): D Ty Gallagher

Buffalo Sabres
Round 1, Pick 1: D Owen Power
Round 1, Pick 14 (from PHI): F Isak Rosen
Round 2, Pick 33: F Prokhor Poltapov
Round 2, Pick 53 (from BOS): F Alexander Kisakov
Round 3, Pick 88 (from FLA): F Stiven Sardarian
Round 3, Pick 95 (from MTL): F Josh Bloom
Round 4, Pick 97: F Olivier Nadeau
Round 5, Pick 159 (from MTL): F Viljami Marjala
Round 6, Pick 161: F William von Barnekow Lofberg
Round 6, Pick 188 (from COL): D Nikita Novikov
Round 7, Pick 193: F Tyson Kozak

Calgary Flames
Round 1, Pick 13: F Matthew Coronato
Round 2, Pick 45: F William Stromgren
Round 3, Pick 77: F Cole Huckins
Round 4, Pick 89 (from TOR via LAK): D Cameron Whynot
Round 5, Pick 141: D Cole Jordan
Round 6, Pick 168 (from LAK): F Jack Beck
Round 6, Pick 173: F Lucas Ciona
Round 7, Pick 205: G Arsenii Sergeev

Carolina Hurricanes
Round 2, Pick 40 (from LAK via NSH): D Scott Morrow
Round 2, Pick 44 (from CHI via CBJ): D Aleksi Heimosalmi
Round 2, Pick 51 (from NSH): F Ville Koivunen
Round 3, Pick 83 (from NSH): G Patrik Hamrla
Round 3, Pick 94 (from VGK via DET): D Aidan Hreschuk
Round 4, Pick 109 (from CGY via LAK): F Jackson Blake
Round 5, Pick 136 (from LAK via OTT): F Robert Orr
Round 5, Pick 147 (from NSH): F Justin Robidas
Round 6, Pick 170 (from OTT): D Bryce Montgomery
Round 6, Pick 187: G Nikita Quapp
Round 7, Pick 200 (from LAK): G Yegor Naumov
Round 7, Pick 209 (from STL): C Nikita Guslistov
Round 7, Pick 219: D Joel Nystrom

Chicago Blackhawks
Round 1, Pick 32 (from TBL via CBJ): D Nolan Allan
Round 2, Pick 62 (from VGK): F Colton Dach
Round 3, Pick 91 (from CAR): D Taige Harding
Round 4, Pick 105 (from VAN): D Ethan Del Mastro
Round 4, Pick 108: F Victor Stjernborg
Round 6, Pick 172: F Ilya Safonov
Round 7, Pick 204: D Connor Kelley
Round 7, Pick 216 (from FLA): F Jalen Luypen

Colorado Avalanche
Round 1, Pick 28: F Oskar Olausson
Round 2, Pick 61 (from NYI via NJD): D Sean Behrens
Round 3, Pick 92: F Andrei Buyalsky
Round 7, Pick 220: F Taylor Makar

Columbus Blue Jackets
Round 1, Pick 5: F Kent Johnson
Round 1, Pick 12 (from CHI): F Cole Sillinger
Round 1, Pick 25 (from TOR): D Corson Ceulemans
Round 3, Pick 69: D Stanislav Svozil
Round 4, Pick 101: D Guillaume Richard
Round 5, Pick 132 (from NJD): D Nikolai Makarov
Round 5, Pick 133: F James Malatesta
Round 6, Pick 165: F Ben Boyd
Round 7, Pick 197: F Martin Rysavy

Dallas Stars
Round 1, Pick 23 (from WSH via DET): F Wyatt Johnston
Round 2, Pick 47: F Logan Stankoven
Round 2, Pick 48 (from NYR via DET): D Artem Grushnikov
Round 3, Pick 73 (from VAN): F Ayrton Martino
Round 3, Pick 79: F Justin Ertel
Round 4, Pick 111: F Conner Roulette
Round 5, Pick 138 (from OTT via MTL, DET): D Jack Bar
Round 5, Pick 143: D Jacob Holmes
Round 6, Pick 175: F Francesco Arcuri
Round 7, Pick 207: F Albert Sjoberg

Detroit Red Wings
Round 1, Pick 6: D Simon Edvinsson
Round 1, Pick 15 (from DAL): G Sebastian Cossa
Round 2, Pick 36 (from NJD via VGK): D Shai Buium
Round 3, Pick 70: F Carter Mazur
Round 4, Pick 114 (from WPG via VGK): F Redmond Savage
Round 5, Pick 134: F Liam Dower Nilsson
Round 5, Pick 155 (from CAR via VGK): D Oscar Plandowski
Round 6, Pick 166: F Pasquale Zito

Edmonton Oilers
Round 1, Pick 22 (from MIN): F Xavier Bourgault
Round 3, Pick 90 (from PIT via SJS, MIN): D Luca Munzenberger
Round 4, Pick 116: F Jake Chiasson
Round 6, Pick 180: F Matvei Petrov
Round 6, Pick 186 (from PIT): F Shane Lachance
Round 7, Pick 212: D Maximus Wanner

Florida Panthers
Round 1, Pick 24: F Mackie Samoskevich
Round 2, Pick 56: D Evan Nause
Round 4, Pick 120: D Vladislav Lukashevich
Round 5, Pick 152: G Kirill Gerasimyuk
Round 6, Pick 184: F Jakub Kos
Round 7, Pick 210 (from WPG): D Braden Hache

Los Angeles Kings
Round 1, Pick 8: D Brandt Clarke
Round 2, Pick 42 (from OTT): F Francesco Pinelli
Round 2, Pick 59 (from CAR): F Samuel Helenius
Round 3, Pick 84 (from EDM via CGY): D Kirill Kirsanov

Minnesota Wild
Round 1, Pick 20 (from EDM): G Jesper Wallstedt
Round 1, Pick 26 (from PIT): D Carson Lambos
Round 2, Pick 54: D Jack Peart
Round 3, Pick 86: F Caedan Bankier
Round 4, Pick 118: D Kyle Masters
Round 4, Pick 127 (from MTL): F Josh Pillar
Round 6, Pick 182: D Nate Benoit

Montreal Canadiens
Round 1, Pick 31: D Logan Mailloux
Round 2, Pick 63: F Riley Kidney
Round 2, Pick 64 (from TBL): F Oliver Kapanen
Round 3, Pick 87 (from WSH via SJS): D Dmitri Kostenko
Round 4, Pick 113 (from STL): D William Trudeau
Round 5, Pick 142 (from PHI): D Daniil Sobolev
Round 5, Pick 150 (from MIN): F Joshua Roy
Round 6, Pick 191: F Xavier Simoneau
Round 7, Pick 214 (from MIN): G Joe Vrbetic

Nashville Predators
Round 1, Pick 19: F Fedor Svechkov
Round 1, Pick 27 (from CAR): F Zachary L’Heureux
Round 3, Pick 72 (from LAK via CAR): D Anton Olsson
Round 4, Pick 115: D Ryan Ufko
Round 4, Pick 124 (from COL via OTT): D Jack Matier
Round 6, Pick 179: F Simon Knak

New Jersey Devils
Round 1, Pick 4: D Luke Hughes
Round 1, Pick 29 (from NYI): F Chase Stillman
Round 3, Pick 68: F Samu Salminen
Round 4, Pick 100: G Jakub Malek
Round 5, Pick 129 (from BUF): D Topias Vilen
Round 6, Pick 164: D Viktor Hurtig
Round 7, Pick 203 (from ARI): F Zakhar Bardakov

New York Islanders
Round 2, Pick 52 (from EDM via DET): F Aatu Raty
Round 3, Pick 93: G Tristan Lennox
Round 4, Pick 125: F Cameron Berg
Round 5, Pick 157: F Eetu Liukas
Round 6, Pick 189: D Aleksi Malinen
Round 7, Pick 221: D Tomas Machu

New York Rangers
Round 1, Pick 16: F Brennan Othmann
Round 3, Pick 65 (from BUF): F Jayden Grubbe
Round 3, Pick 75 (from ARI via NJD, WSH): F Ryder Korczak
Round 4, Pick 104 (from LAK): F Brody Lamb
Round 4, Pick 106 (from OTT): F Kalle Vaisanen
Round 4, Pick 112: G Talyn Boyko
Round 5, Pick 144: F Jaroslav Chmelar
Round 7, Pick 208: D Hank Kempf

Ottawa Senators
Round 1, Pick 10: F Tyler Boucher
Round 2, Pick 39 (from SJS): F Zach Ostapchuk
Round 2, Pick 49 (from STL via BUF, VGK, LAK): D Ben Roger
Round 3, Pick 74: F Oliver Johansson
Round 4, Pick 123 (from CAR): F Carson Latimer
Round 7, Pick 202: D Chandler Romeo

Philadelphia Flyers
Round 2, Pick 46: F Samu Tuomaala
Round 3, Pick 78: G Aleksei Kolosov
Round 4, Pick 110: D Brian Zanetti
Round 5, Pick 158 (from VGK via WSH): D Ty Murchison
Round 6, Pick 174: D Ethan Samson
Round 7, Pick 206: F Owen McLaughlin

Pittsburgh Penguins
Round 2, Pick 58: F Tristan Broz
Round 5, Pick 154: D Isaac Belliveau
Round 7, Pick 194 (from ANA): D Ryan McCleary
Round 7, Pick 215 (from WSH): D Daniel Laatsch
Round 7, Pick 218: F Kirill Tankov

San Jose Sharks
Round 1, Pick 7: F William Eklund
Round 3, Pick 81 (from STL): G Benjamin Gaudreau
Round 4, Pick 103: D Gannon Laroque
Round 4, Pick 121 (from TOR): F Ethan Cardwell
Round 5, Pick 135: D Artem Guryev
Round 5, Pick 156 (from COL): F Max McCue
Round 6, Pick 167: F Liam Gilmartin
Round 6, Pick 177 (from STL): F Theo Jacobsson
Round 7, Pick 199: F/D Evgenii Kashnikov

Seattle Kraken
Round 1, Pick 2: F Matthew Beniers
Round 2, Pick 35: D Ryker Evans
Round 3, Pick 67: F Ryan Winterton
Round 4, Pick 99: D Ville Ottavainen
Round 5, Pick 131: F Jacob Melanson
Round 6, Pick 163: G Semyon Vyazovoi
Round 7, Pick 195: F Justin Janicke

St. Louis Blues
Round 1, Pick 17: F Zachary Bolduc
Round 3, Pick 71 (from SJS): F Simon Robertsson
Round 5, Pick 145: D Tyson Galloway
Round 7, Pick 198 (from DET): F Ivan Vorobyov

Tampa Bay Lightning
Round 3, Pick 96: D Roman Schmidt
Round 4, Pick 126 (from VGK via MTL): F Dylan Duke
Round 5, Pick 160: F Cameron MacDonald
Round 6, Pick 192: D Alex Gagne
Round 7, Pick 196 (from NJD): D Daniil Pylenkov
Round 7, Pick 211 (from NSH): F Robert Flinton
Round 7, Pick 224: F Niko Huuhtanen

Toronto Maple Leafs
Round 2, Pick 57: F Matthew Knies
Round 5, Pick 153: F Ty Voit
Round 6, Pick 185: G Vyacheslav Peksa

Vancouver Canucks
Round 2, Pick 41: F Danila Klimovich
Round 5, Pick 137: G Aku Koskenvuo
Round 5, Pick 140 (from CHI): D Jonathan Myrenberg
Round 6, Pick 169: D Hugo Gabrielsson
Round 6, Pick 178 (from WPG): F Connor Lockhart
Round 7, Pick 201: F Lucas Forsell

Vegas Golden Knights
Round 1, Pick 30: F Zach Dean
Round 2, Pick 38 (from DET): D Daniil Chayka
Round 4, Pick 102 (from DET): F Jakub Brabenec
Round 4, Pick 128 (from TBL via DET): F Jakub Demek
Round 6, Pick 190: D Artur Cholach
Round 7, Pick 222: G Carl Lindbom

Washington Capitals
Round 2, Pick 55: D Vincent Iorio
Round 3, Pick 80 (from NYR): D Brent Johnson
Round 4, Pick 119: D Joaquim Lemay
Round 5, Pick 151: F Haakon Hanelt
Round 6, Pick 176 (from NYR): D Dru Krebs
Round 6, Pick 183: G Chase Clark

Winnipeg Jets
Round 1, Pick 18: F Chaz Lucius
Round 2, Pick 50: F Nikita Chibrikov
Round 3, Pick 82: D Dmitri Kuzmin
Round 5, Pick 146: F Dmitri Rashevsky

Detroit Red Wings Acquire Alex Nedeljkovic

July 22, 2021 at 12:28 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 45 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings have found a goaltender. The Red Wings have acquired Alex Nedeljkovic from the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes will receive Jonathan Bernier and a third-round pick in return. Bernier is a pending unrestricted free agent and has not signed with Carolina at this point.

Nedeljkovic, 25, burst onto the scene in Carolina this season, taking over the net when given the opportunity. After Petr Mrazek went out with injury, Nedeljkovic stepped in and posted a .932 save percentage in 23 games. He continued to play in the postseason for the Hurricanes, registering a .920 in nine appearances, but losing five of the games he played in. Nedeljkovic finished third in Calder Trophy voting as one of the league’s best rookies.

After that breakout performance, Nedeljkovic was set up for a huge raise in restricted free agency. The young goaltender was arbitration-eligible and could have landed a substantial award, something the Hurricanes did not feel comfortable paying. In Detroit, he quickly signed a two-year contract that will carry a cap hit of $3.0MM, which takes him to UFA status following the 2022-23 season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the deal will pay Nedeljkovic $2.5MM in 2021-22 and $3.5MM in 2022-23.

The Hurricanes now have three goaltenders, Bernier, Mrazek and James Reimer, who have all been starters in the past and will become unrestricted free agents on July 28. They do not have any real NHL options in the system, meaning there will be contracts to come at some point.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic was first to report the news on Twitter.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Michael Rasmussen

July 22, 2021 at 12:13 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Michael Rasmussen to a three-year contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry an average annual value of $1.46MM. Rasmussen will earn $1MM in 2021-22, $1.48MM in 2022-23 and $1.9MM in 2023-24.

After spending the entire 2019-20 season in the minor leagues, Rasmussen was back up with the Red Wings this year and played in 40 of the team’s 56 games. He recorded just three goals and 12 points those games, but obviously did enough to earn a new deal from the team. There’s something to be said for a 22-year-old center that stands 6’6″ and can handle himself defensively, but Rasmussen’s offensive production is still a concern.

Selected ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen has now generated just 11 goals and 30 points in 102 NHL games. His offense was the big question mark even in junior, and if he’s to ever live up to his top-10 billing it will need to improve. Still, at a $1.46MM cap hit, the Red Wings can afford to be patient with the hulking center, allowing him to develop while occupying a spot lower in the lineup.

For Detroit GM Steve Yzerman, this is just the first of many moves coming this summer to fill out the roster. Rasmussen becomes just the fifth forward on the team under a one-way contract for 2021-22, and the only one signed for more than two years. In fact, he is now the only player in the entire organization signed to a one-way deal for 2023-24.

Jonathan Bernier Expected To Test Free Agency

July 20, 2021 at 8:30 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 12 Comments

At times this past season, it looked like there was a possibility that goaltender Jonathan Bernier could extend his stay with the Red Wings. However, it appears that won’t be the case as TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the veteran has decided to test the open market when free agency begins next week.

The 32-year-old hasn’t exactly posted great numbers with Detroit but with the Red Wings bottoming out in the standings as GM Steve Yzerman rebuilds the roster, Bernier held his own most nights over the last three years. In 2020-21, he played in 24 games while splitting time with Thomas Greiss, posting a 2.99 GAA along with a .914 SV% which was six points above the league average. Being above the NHL average in that department is something that his agent Pat Brisson will undoubtedly bring up in contract discussions.

Bernier could very well be in line for a small raise on the $3MM cap hit he had on this most recent deal. The backup market has continued to grow in recent years with an increase of teams wanting to lessen the workload of their starter or even head towards more of a platoon with some deals coming in closer to the $3.5MM mark. Bernier has basically been in that same situation for the past several years even before his time in Detroit and that track record could help him when the floodgates open next week.

Red Wings Acquire Nick Leddy

July 16, 2021 at 7:12 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 30 Comments

The Red Wings have added to their back end in advance of tomorrow’s transactions freeze, acquiring defenseman Nick Leddy from the Islanders in exchange for winger Richard Panik and the 52nd overall pick in this month’s draft. Detroit is also retaining 50% of Panik’s contract, using their first of three salary retention slots in the process. Both teams have announced the trade.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Leddy was being shopped to avoid the potential of losing him to Seattle in the upcoming expansion draft. The 30-year-old had logged steady minutes over his seven years with the Islanders, averaging more than 21 minutes per game for each of the last six seasons. Leddy even had a bounce-back year offensively this past season, tallying 31 points in 56 games. However, with the Islanders having over $77MM in commitments for next season with several key players in need of new contracts, some money needed to be moved and Leddy’s $5.5MM price tag became the casualty.

Panik was acquired as salary ballast from Washington back at the trade deadline as part of the Anthony Mantha deal and is on the move again as salary ballast in this trade. He has two years left on his deal with a $2.75MM AAV so with Detroit retaining half of that price tag, New York frees up $4.125MM in cap room with the move. They also get a fairly high draft pick and Panik at a $1.375MM cost is serviceable for someone who is best served as a role player at this stage of his career after seeing his offensive numbers drop for four straight seasons to just 13 in 48 games in 2020-21.

Meanwhile, Leddy immediately becomes one of Detroit’s top defensemen but with his age and contract which expires next summer, it certainly doesn’t feel as if he’ll be a long-term fixture on their back end, especially since they’re still in rebuilding mode. Instead, he’s someone that appears to be a strong candidate to be flipped closer to the trade deadline, perhaps with some salary retention as well to make it easier for a contender to add him later in the season where they may be able to recoup the second-rounder they’ve given up here.

As for New York’s expansion situation, this ensures they won’t lose Leddy for free but still poses some questions. Each team must leave at least one signed defenseman unprotected that has played in at least 54 games over the past two years (or played in 27 games this season). The Islanders only have three of those in Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield. Presumably, those are the three they want to keep so they will now need to acquire or sign a defenseman to serve as the mandatory unprotected player before the lists are submitted on Saturday. Veterans Braydon Coburn and Andy Greene meet the games played requirement so a one-year contract for them would satisfy the requirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Detroit Interested In Bringing Back Jonathan Bernier and Luke Glendening

July 15, 2021 at 9:02 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 24 Comments

While most of the hype surrounding the Detroit Red Wings lately has been the trade potential of Tyler Bertuzzi, there’s still decisions that the team needs to make elsewhere on the roster. A Detroit offseason piece from The Athletic’s Max Bultman reports that Detroit is interesting in bringing back a pair of pending UFAs in Jonathan Bernier and Luke Glendening. Bernier’s been a very solid netminder for Detroit since arriving in 2018-19. His best season was undoubtedly this last one, posting a 9-11-1 record and .914 save percentage, both his best numbers since signing with the Wings. He forms a decent pairing with Thomas Greiss, who’s still under contract, and would help the Wings stay afloat. There’s also Glendening, who’s passable defensively and gained positive notoriety for his faceoff prowess. Both extensions, hypothetically, would be affordable and decent moves for the rebuilding Wings.

Grand Rapids Griffins Extend Forward Dominik Shine

July 15, 2021 at 5:26 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

The AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins today announced that they’ve re-signed forward Dominik Shine to a one-year AHL contract. The 28-year-old forward has never seen NHL action, but has remained with the Detroit Red Wings organization since turning pro at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. A Michigan-born product, Shine played his junior hockey with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars before playing four seasons of college hockey with Northern Michigan University. Shine hasn’t exactly blown away with his production, scoring just two goals and four points in 29 contests this past season, but was extended for his leadership and professional experience. He’ll help mentor a group in Grand Rapids in 2021-22 that could contain some of Detroit’s future superstars.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

July 3, 2021 at 6:01 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 9 Comments

Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Red Wings Interested In Re-Signing Luke Glendening

July 3, 2021 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Red Wings are interested in re-signing pending UFA center Luke Glendening, reports Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now. The 32-year-old has been in trade deadline speculation for several years now given his faceoff ability (he won a career-best 60.9% of his draws this season) but Detroit has opted to hold onto him each time. Considering that fourth liners were hit hard last fall in free agency and a flat cap this summer, Glendening may be hard-pressed to get more than the $1.8MM AAV he had on his most recent contract.

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

July 2, 2021 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

Free agency is now less than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Red Wings, who have been quietly collecting assets for the last few seasons, could start to dip their toes into the UFA waters.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Jakub Vrana – At the deadine this season, instead of just selling, Red Wings’ GM Steve Yzerman took a bit of a different approach. Sure, he traded away core forward Anthony Mantha for a package that included two high draft picks, but the biggest piece coming back was Vrana, a 25-year-old forward who had already found a lot of success in the NHL. The deal immediately paid dividends (for both teams) as Vrana scored eight goals and 11 points in 11 games down the stretch in Detroit, including a four-goal effort against the Dallas Stars. He now enters the offseason as one of the team’s most important restricted free agents, though how Yzerman will handle his negotiation isn’t clear. With several seasons of NHL action under his belt, Vrana is arbitration-eligible and could reach unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2023. That means a long-term deal would be buying out most of the years with the highest earning potential, likely driving the average annual value way up. A short-term deal could be beneficial to both parties, especially if the Red Wings have any thought of flipping him for more futures at some point.

F Tyler Bertuzzi – Speaking of flipping an asset, Bertuzzi is now just a year away from unrestricted free agency and arbitration-eligible once again. That means he could potentially wait for the one-year contract given by the arbitrator and walk into UFA status at 27, but there is certainly risk on Bertuzzi’s part. For one thing, he played just nine games this season and underwent back surgery at the end of April. He is supposed to be healthy in time for the start of 2021-22, but who knows how his body will react after such a long layoff. There are other teams in the league who would covet the bang-and-crash style of the 26-year-old, and he very well could be a trade candidate in the coming weeks. Just like Mantha, Bertuzzi might be just a little too old to be part of the next wave in Detroit.

Other RFAs: F Adam Erne, F Evgeny Svechnikov, F Michael Rasmussen, F Mathias Brome, F Givani Smith, F Hayden Verbeek, F Chase Pearson, D Christian Djoos, D Filip Hronek, D Dennis Cholowski, D Gustav Lindstrom

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Luke Glendening – Is it finally time for the defensive specialist to leave Detroit? Glendening has been in trade rumors for the last half-decade, always a candidate to be moved to a contender at the deadline. It has never actually happened though, meaning the 32-year-old has played his entire 554-game NHL career with the Red Wings. One thing he hasn’t experienced much of during that time? Offensive zone faceoffs, as he has been hammered by defensive zone starts his entire career. There’s almost no offense there, and Glendening certainly isn’t the skater he once was, but his faceoff prowess is still a weapon on the penalty kill and in key defensive situations. He won nearly 61% of his draws this season, trailing only Patrice Bergeron in that category league-wide.

D Marc Staal – When Staal came to Detroit, it was a simple cap dump by the New York Rangers to free up more room on the back end for young players. Then he went and became one of the Red Wings most reliable defensemen, averaging more than 18 minutes a night against the opponent’s best. Suddenly, he seems like a realistic extension candidate for Detroit, who could help insulate some of the younger names that will be added to the lineup next season. The 34-year-old is nearing the end of his career and has made almost $55MM over the course of nearly 1,000 games; he shouldn’t be very expensive if Yzerman wants to bring him back.

G Jonathan Bernier – Undersized goalies can’t get it done? Tell that to Bernier, who has quietly been an effective NHL option for more than a decade. Now 32, he’s coming off another strong season in Detroit where he posted a .914 save percentage in 24 appearances. There’s a reasonable chance that Bernier could be a 1B option on a contending team, but there’s also a good argument to be made for the Red Wings to bring him back. He worked fine with Thomas Greiss this season and Detroit doesn’t have a minor league netminder truly banging down the door for an NHL opportunity.

Other UFAs: F Bobby Ryan, F Sam Gagner, F Valtteri Filppula, F Darren Helm, F Henrik Zetterberg, F Turner Elson, F Dominic Turgeon, F Kyle Criscuolo, F Taro Hirose, D Dylan McIlrath, D Joe Hicketts, D Alex Biega, G Calvin Pickard, G Kevin Boyle

Projected Cap Space

Part of the rebuild that Yzerman has done in Detroit, along with accumulating lots of draft picks, is clearing the books of any real long-term money. In fact, after trading Mantha, the team has just two players signed to one-way contracts through the 2022-23 season. That means nearly the entire cap is his to play with going forward, with more than $48MM this offseason in particular. If the team wants to sign players, they have the room.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

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