Why Joe Pavelski, Nikita Zadorov, and Teuvo Teravainen could make sense in Detroit this summer as free agents
Why Joe Pavelski, Nikita Zadorov, and Teuvo Teravainen could make sense in Detroit this summer as free agents
Heading into a busy summer, here are three pending unrestricted free agents who could help the Red Wings push for the 2025 postseason:
Joe Pavelski
The player:
Pavelski is 39 years old and has played 1332 NHL games, putting up 476 goals and 592 assists for 1068 career points. This season, he played in all 82 games for the Dallas Stars for the third year in a row, putting up 27 goals, 40 assists, and 67 points.
He is also one of the great net-front players of his generation, a veritable artist in deflecting pucks on goal. This regular season, he scored 11 power play goals, having put up 13, 12, and 13 in the three seasons prior.
Projected contract:
Per AFP Analytics, Pavelski is projected to receive a one-year, $4 million deal.
Fit and viability:
Pavelski is a strong 200-foot forward whose artistry around the net front makes him a valuable power play contributor. On a one-year deal, it shouldn't be hard to find a role for him, though $4 million would not be a trifling AAV for Detroit to take on. The two big questions are (a) whether Pavelski wants to play another season after this one and (b) if the answer to the first question is yes, would he consider leaving Dallas? There's a world in which Detroit could make sense for Pavelski and the Red Wings, but it would require some maneuvering from both parties to come to fruition. He's not a player who can be a part of anybody's long-term plans, but he could make sense in Detroit as a stop gap to help the likes of Carter Mazur, Nate Danielson, and Marco Kasper take the time they need to get NHL ready.
Nikita Zadorov
The player:
Zadorov is a 29-year-old D man currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks. He's played 642 career NHL games, putting up 47 goals and 99 assists for 146 points. This year, in 75 games, he scored six goals and gave 14 assists. At six-foot-six, he is a big, physical, defense first defenseman, thougb, as he showed in Game 5 of the Canucks' series with Nashville, he can pitch in some offense too.
Projected contract:
AFP projects Zadorov to sign a four-year deal worth $5 million per season.
Fit and viability:
Zadorov's profile is one we've seen enamor Steve Yzerman with defensemen in the past. However, for him to make sense this summer, the Red Wings would have to move at least one of their currently signed veteran defenders out to make room in an already crowded defense room. Even then, Zadorov may well command a contract too rich for Detroit to afford, particularly if the Canucks make a long playoff run. In the end, this is absolutely a player who could help the Red Wings, but within the strictures of the salary cap, he may not be a fit.
Teuvo Teravainen
The player:
Teravainen is a 29-year-old winger for the Carolina Hurricanes who won the 2015 Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. He has played 670 career NHL games, scoring 155 goals and giving 304 assists for a total of 459 points. He's a playmaking forward who, in proud Hurricane tradition, also has strong defensive impacts in his underlying numbers. That hard skill should be quite palatable to a lot of teams this summer, even if he is approaching (if not already upon) the back nine of his career.
Projected contract:
AFP projects a five-year deal for Teravainen, worth $6.3 million per season.
Fit and viability:
As with Zadorov, that projected number is probably too rich for the Red Wings to afford this summer, and, while I quite like his game, I'm not sure Teravainen is a good enough player to give a five-year deal as he enters his thirties. (With a September 11th birthday, he will be 30 by the time the puck drops on the '24-25 regular season.) Still, a top-six playmaker like Teravainen would make a lot of sense for Detroit if Patrick Kane winds up walking this summer.
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