Justin Holl (Tim Fuller-Imagn Images)This season is all but lost.
When one door closes, another opens.
A closed door could be a good thing for the Detroit Red Wings, especially with some of the players they have on their roster. They want to make another push for a Wild Card Position next year.
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The best way to do it could be to let go of a few players in their ranks. Here are five players that the Red Wings would be well served to move on from in the summer.
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Vladimir Tarasenko
Between the rumor of the Red Wings looking for a new home for him, combined with his poor production, Vladimir Tarasenko seems like a solid candidate to find a new home in the summer.
When he signed his two-year deal in the summer, no one expected things to sour to this degree. After the deadline, Tarasenko was a great winger for the Florida Panthers last season. Unfortunately, the player and team were unfit, and both should move on.
Erik Gustafsson
Strike this one as another case of a player-team mismatch. Erik Gustafsson is an offensive minded defender who doesn’t defend particularly well.
For a team that wanted to improve defensively, he was a curious addition to the Red Wings' defense. This is especially true when you consider the offensive acumen of rearguards such as Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson.
Justin Holl
The Red Wings should have never signed Justin Holl. He is fine as a third-pairing defender, but he’s been passed on the depth chart by nearly every other defender. Several defenders in the organization could easily replace Holl.
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for the defender.
Jeff Petry
When you combine injury history with being out-played by the rookies on the team, you get a recipe that spells the end of Jeff Petry’s tenure with the Red Wings.
Petry has been serviceable from time to time. But for the Red Wings to break their playoff-drought, they are going to need more than serviceable from everyone.
Petr Mrazek
The most curious trade Steve Yzerman executed this season was bringing in Petr Mrazek. He isn’t a clear upgrade on Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot.
Additionally, he breaks more than the hearts of teenage girls in high school. If you are going to acquire a goalie to push underperforming teammates, at least trade for one who will play instead of being relegated to the press box
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