No tanking for Red Wings, who re-sign Green and add Bernier, Vanek
As you digest the three signings the Detroit Red Wings made to kick off free agent frenzy, there are a couple of things to take into account. First, much of the direction the Red Wings will take next season depends upon the future of Henrik Zetterberg, who will apparently decide on his future after a golf outing with some of his teammates later this month. Second, as long as Ken Holland is GM in the Detroit, the Red Wings will never, ever embrace The Tank.
That much was crystal clear when the Red Wings announced their three signings – defenseman Mike Green at two years with a $5.4 million cap hit, goalie Jonathan Bernier for three year at $3 million per year and Thomas Vanek for one year at $3 million. What you have to realize is that by doing this, the Red Wings may have cost themselves a chance at getting Jack Hughes, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2019 entry draft, particularly if Zetterberg decides to retire and is placed on the long-term injury list. But the way the Red Wings look at it, finishing last is no guarantee of winning the draft lottery and the downside of tanking is your young players are indoctrinated into a culture where losing is acceptable.
Argue with that all you want, but that’s the way the Red Wings want to do things. They want their young players to at least have some veteran presence around them and they want to remain competitive. They see that as the better way to build a winning team in the long term. The Red Wings are not trying to win the Cup, but they lost 22 games last season by one goal. They want to be in the games and give their fans something to cheer for while still rebuilding. Again, you don’t have to agree with it and there are many who don’t, but that’s route the Red Wings are committed to taking.
The Red Wings like Vanek’s character and they like what he did for them when he played there in 2016-17. And since he’s on a one-year deal, there’s a good chance his annual trade at the deadline will transpire once again in 2019. Green was their best offensive defenseman last season. Hheck, he might have been their best defenseman, period. And rather than give him away for next to nothing at the deadline last season and try to re-sign him, they opted to keep him in Detroit at a cap hit that might be a little higher than they’d like, but only for two years. As far as Bernier is concerned, the Red Wings need a reliable backup for Jimmy Howard and some assurances they’ll have somebody to fill the crease when Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent next year. Gustav Nyqvist and Niklas Kronwall are also on their last year of their deals, which means another $9.5 million comes off the books.
So the rebuild is on in Detroit, perhaps not in the way that many of their fans would like, but this is a group that knows it won’t contend for at least another couple of seasons. There are different ways to do this and this is the way the Red Wings are going.
Here’s another thing about the Red Wings. Don’t be surprised if all three of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou are all signed on bridge deals. Larkin will get about $6 million a year on whatever number of years he wants, while Mantha and Athanasiou will get about half of that on shorter-term contracts. That would put the Red Wings over the cap if Zetterberg comes back and they would have to move out a body or two if that happens.
The Red Wings’ approach to sixth overall pick Filip Zadina will be the same as they took with Larkin three years ago. He’ll be in Detroit as long as he’s playing significant minutes and is not a healthy scratch. (For that matter, 30th overall pick Joe Veleno will get a long look in camp.) Otherwise, he’ll either be sent back to junior or go to the American League, an option the Red Wings have open to them with Zadina. In addition to that, center Michael Rasmussen and defensemen Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski will push for spots, while Tyler Bertuzzi will be in the lineup for a full season.
So the Red Wings are clearly rebuilding on the fly here. It likely won’t get them Jack Hughes, but they won’t be a modern-day version of the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres or Arizona Coyotes, either.