It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours on the final day of the 2023-24 season. The buzz is around a possibly historic Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, there’s plenty to discuss with the NHL Draft and free agency on the horizon. Teams are going to do all they can to keep their important players, but some hard choices are going to be made. New deals are do for players and not everyone can fit under the salary cap. This edition of NHL rumours deals with the Detroit Red Wings and their free agent crop.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Detroit Red Wings Free Agent Outlook
Rumour: Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press talked the General Manager Steve Yzerman about the team’s free agent class. Yzerman said that he’d like to re-sign unrestricted free agents Patrick Kane and Shayne Gostisbehere. However, he may not be able to get them under contract.
Steve Yzerman has been open about wanting to re-sign Patrick Kane, Shayne Gostisbehere, among others, but said they won't be able to sign everyone. https://t.co/av2BHsejwo
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) June 22, 2024
Analysis: Kane and Gostisbehere are both at the top of Yzerman’s list. However, St. James pointed out that it may not be to get them back for another season in Hockeytown. “We won’t be able to sign all of our free agents,” said Yzerman. The Wings GM did express interest in bringing them back. However, it’s a matter of dollars and cents.
Both Kane and Gostisbehere were contributors to a Red Wings team that just missed out on the post-season. They chipped in a large manner, but those performances probably deserved to be rewarded.
Making it Fit
Besides Kane and Gostisbehere, there are other players that Yzerman has to worry about. David Perron is also a UFA and there some restricted free agents that need deals. The two big ones that Yzerman needs to get under contract are Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. We’ve talked about deals for both players on previous editions of NHL rumours.
Raymond and Seider both played big roles for Detroit and Yzerman will want to get them locked down. However, the rising salary cap could throw a wrench into things. Do these players want to chase dollars or have the security of term? Salary cap numbers are going up, but will these young players take bridge deals to score one big-time deal?
Yzerman is going to get the possible deal to maximize his cap space. Getting Raymond and Seider team-friendly deals is going to be his mission. St. James mentioned it could take up $16-17 million to keep the pair.
Who Will Be Back?
This team won’t be able to bring back all of their free agents. Yzerman clearly pointed that out to St. James, but is going to do all he can to get most of them back. He couldn’t guarantee any of them coming back. Wings management is already planning for Seider and Raymond to eat up a good chunk of the free cap space.
Detroit has made strides in the past few seasons. However, it’s time to take the next step and get back to the post-season. There’s some promise with the roster, but it’s time for this team to deliver and play meaningful games in April and May.
Main photo by: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
