NHL All Star Break Gives Detroit Red Wings Time To Create Free Agent To-Do List
Aaahhh...the All-Star Break.
As every Red Wing not named "Nicklas Lidstrom" is now either confirming their flights to warm, sandy destinations, arranging their bar-hopping plans with friends back home, or simply looking forward to taking their kids to school in the morning, suffice it to say that hockey is going to be the last thing on players' minds for the next few days.
The Red Wings race to the All Star Break was complicated by injuries, inconsistent play and a few tough losses, but all and all, they are in great shape entering the back-nine of this season.
They sit second in the Western Conference with 66 points and are one of just five teams to have cracked the 30-win mark.
When they do resume play on February 2nd, they will have two of their best players in Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary back in the line-up and should be poised for dominating run to end the season.
As of now, in Hockeytown, things are good.
But, as nice as it might be to sit back and bask in the success of the season to date, this is also a good time to take a look at the current roster and find out what work is ahead of GM Ken Holland the rest of the year and into the summer.
There is much to be done.
The Red Wings currently have 11 soon-to-be free-agents under contract, and 10 of those are unrestricted.
With roughly $15 million in salary set to come off the Wings' books, Holland is going to have his hands full trying to manage retaining/replacing 10+ players to round out the roster.
What follows is a list of the 11 impending free-agents currently on Detroit's roster.
This should be self-explanatory, but, if not, go ahead and check out last year's players and come back to see who'll make the cut this season.
Follow Matt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MAhutter12
Mike Modano, UFA, Current Salary: $1.75 Million: Dump 'Em
1 of 11
I had my doubts about, and even outright objections to, the whole "Motown Modano" idea over the summer, but once it was done, I was optimistic it would work out for the best.
It hasn't.
Through no fault of his own, Mike Modano has essentially been a non-factor for Detroit this season due to the fact he suffered a fluky wrist laceration at the end of November that severed his tendons and has sidelined him until some time until the end of the season (hopefully).
To his credit, Modano was actually looking more comfortable in a Red Wings sweater at the time of his injury, but whether or not that was the sign of good things to come, we'll never know.
Given his age, it's likely even a very good season wouldn't have kept him off the Dump 'Em List.
In the end, Modano in Detroit will be chalked up as nothing more than dreams about what could have been.
Kris Draper, UFA, Current Salary: $1.6 Million: Dump 'Em
2 of 11
I guess I really don't want Detroit to "dump" Kris Draper as much as I'd love to see him retire and put an outstanding career to an honorable end.
It's not my, nor anyone's, place to tell Draper to retire, but, given his age (39),offering him a contract extension seems a less than likely option for Ken Holland, even if he is sweet on the old guys.
Kris Draper, in my opinion, is one of the 25 greatest Red Wings of all time, so seeing him go (if he goes) is going to be a personally emotional moment for me.
Nevertheless, the Red Wings must get younger sooner or later, and they already have a couple of young guns that could conceivably attempt to try filling the role Draper has played in Detroit for so many years.
Guys like...
Cory Emmerton, RFA, Current Salary: $500k: Keep 'Em
3 of 11
...Cory Emmerton.
At just 6'0" and 188 lbs., Emmerton isn't a physically imposing player. Then again, neither are most of Detroit's forwards.
However, like most Red Wing forwards, Emmerton has above-average hockey sense, is a good playmaker and has solid two-way instincts.
His entry-level deal expires this season, which means that he must at least receive a qualifying offer from the Wings this season if they intend to keep him.
His potential deserves more than that. I think a two-way contract for three years, with an NHL salary of $600k, would be just about right.
.png?w=256 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=256 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=256)
Patrick Eaves, UFA, Current Salary: $750k: Keep Em
4 of 11
Like so many other wayward NHLers, Patrick Eaves seems to have finally found a home in Detroit.
The former first-round pick has done a little bit of everything for the Wings this season. From killing penalties, to filling in on the power play to potting goals when the team really needed them, Eaves has established himself as a valuable piece of the puzzle in Motown.
While he is on pace for a career-best 23 goals, chipping in just 15 or so a year would be good enough for the bottom-six forward to warrant an extended stay in Detroit.
The past two summers, Holland signed Eaves to one year deals. This season, he deserves a longer contract and a bit of a raise.
$3.6 million over the next four years would be a reasonable offer in my estimation.
Drew Miller, UFA, Current Salary: $650k: Keep Em
5 of 11
I'm not sure how he feels about it, but if Drew Miller had not played so well during training camp, Kirk Maltby might still be wearing No. 18 in Detroit.
Though Maltby was already signed to a two-way contract, his chance of making that mainly a one-way stay in Detroit rested on the less-than solid performance of Miller in the pre-season.
As it turns out, Miller played too well to ignore, and Maltby was left with two options: play in the AHL or retire. He eventually chose the latter.
Miller isn't going to light the lamp with any amount of consistency as a Red Wing, but his forechecking and defensive acumen sprinkled with the odd offensive outburst are handy skills to have on your fourth line.
His current salary seems about right for his skill set; however, offering him a slight bump up to $700k annually for three years seems more than fair.
Jan Mursak, RFA, Current Salary: $500k: Keep Em
6 of 11
If "speed kills" in the new NHL, then Jan Mursak figures to be a serial killer.
The Slovenian speedster has largely impressed in his 14 games with the Wings this season, but like most young players, he still has a ways to go to round out his game.
Nevertheless, word 'round the campfire is other teams are already scouting the 23-year-old just in case Detroit decides to leave him open for offer-sheets.
Like Emmerton, he's at the end of his entry-level deal, and just like Emmerton, he deserves a bona fide extension to remain in the Detroit organization.
He has quite a bit more dangle to his game than does Emmerton, so while I think he should get the same term as Emmerton, he deserves a bit of a bump in annual salary.
Three-years on a two-way deal for $700k per.
Nicklas Lidstrom, UFA, Current Salary: $6.2 Million: KEEP EM!!!
7 of 11
As you might have seen, last year's version of "Keep 'Em or Dump 'Em" had Nicklas Lidstrom as the only "Player's Pick".
At the time, I thought the Wings should simply let Nick decide what he wanted to do (sign or retire) and comply with whatever that decisions was.
This year, I think the situation is much different.
How Lidstrom can bet better even though he's older, I don't know, but there really is no indication that Nick can't play this game better than most for the foreseeable future.
Unlike most 40-year-old veterans, Nick really has no nagging injuries or even a nagging injury history that prevent him from being a top-tier defender. His strength and conditioning are better than most 20-somethings in the league (don't let his slender frame fool you; if you've ever seen him shirtless, you know this guy is carved out of wood).
Simply put, there's no physical reason Nick should retire, and there's no reason the Wings should not do everything they can to get him to stay on one more year.
So, while Nick's fate will ultimately be left up to him, I think Ken Holland should make it abundantly clear that he wants him to stay another season.
Offering a one-year, $5.5 million deal to a 40-year-old player is pure madness 99.99 percent of the time, but for a player in the top .01 percent of all-time greatness, it's well worth it.
Ruslan Salei, UFA, Current Salary: $1.1 Million: Dump Em
8 of 11
It's not that he's been bad; in point of fact, I think Ruslan Salei has been pretty good for the Red Wings this season.
However, a stay-at-home defenseman is a relatively easy thing to pick up on the open market and, at that, could come cheaper than $1.1 million per year.
True, Ken Holland loves him so old players, so he might be inclined to keep Salei on another year.
However, with an improving Jakub Kindl in the mix and a blue-chip prospect named Brendan Smith ready for a shot at the bigs next season, I think the Wings will have younger and better options for a sixth defenseman next season.
It would be great to see Salei end his time with the Red Wings a Stanley Cup Champion, but either way, I think he should be a one and done player in red and white this season.
Jonathan Ericsson, UFA, Current Salary: $900k: Keep Em
9 of 11
Now things are getting interesting.
Ericsson impressed the hell out of me, and even his Red Wing teammates, in the 2009 playoffs.
He was fast, aggressive, almost always in the right position and really provided a boost to a black and blue-line that was feeling the effects from a successful Stanley Cup run the year before.
At the start of last season, Ericsson was one of the players I was most looking forward to seeing play.
Despite his outstanding playoff run, Ericsson struggled last year as an NHL regular and just when he seemed to be finding his groove, he went down with a knee injury only to return and leave again with a back injury.
This season, Ericsson was one of those players that needed to take a step forward, and to this point, he has.
Playing along side Brian Rafalski, Ericsson has recovered his confidence and defensive prowess and is looking every bit the top-four d-man the Wings want him to be.
Still, extending him an offer now might be a bit tricky, as Ken Holland may really want to see how he fares in the offseason before offering him a contract.
On the other hand, if Holland lets him go un-signed up until July 1st, there is surely going to be a number of other teams willing to offer Ericsson more money than the Wings could afford to match.
So, while it may be a bit of a gamble, Holland and the Wings might be well served by trying to extend the young Swede via a three-year, $6 million contract. It should be just high enough to keep him in a Red Wings sweater and just low enough to offer a good ROI.
Chris Osgood, UFA, Current Salary: $1.416 Million: Dump Em
10 of 11
Like his buddy Kris Draper, I have a hard time putting "Dump 'Em" next to Chris Osgood's name.
Additionally, like Draper, I'd be surprised if Ozzie doesn't make the whole point of a contract extension moot by hanging 'em up after this season.
After two horrific seasons in net, Osgood has actually looked rather solid in goal this year prior to his injury. So, the decision to let him walk won't come easily for Ken Holland if that's the way he decides to go.
However, with 400 wins, three Stanley Cups and the franchise record for most playoff wins by a goalie firmly secured, there really isn't anything left for Ozzie to do in the NHL, and his recent injury history suggests his body is telling him the same thing.
Fans may always be divided over how much Osgood meant to the Wings.
However, I for one believe he should be the last Red Wing to ever don No. 30, and seeing that number raised to the rafters sometime next season would make me happier than seeing it in net one more year.
Jimmy Howard, UFA, Current Salary: $716k: Keep Em
11 of 11
Keeping Jimmy Howard via a long-term extension may not seem as sure a bet as it did a couple of months ago.
Howie started his sophomore season with a shutout and ended the first month of the 2010-11 campaign fully vetted as a bona fide top-tier goalie.
However, since then, his numbers have taken a serious dive, and though his win totals (24) remain impressive, the number of times his team has had to pot four or more goals to get some of those wins is more than coach Mike Babcock would like.
Regardless of his declining stats, Jimmy Howard is a warrior in net and no one could convince me otherwise.
Twice this season, the Red Wings have faced red-hot teams that no other team seemed capable of beating and emerged with "W's", and Jimmy Howard is the reason why.
His performances against Montreal and Vancouver in December were nothing short of spectacular and reveal that the bigger the game is, the better Jimmy Howard plays.
I want to see Jimmy Howard in net long-term, and I believe Ken Holland feels the same way.
As for the numbers and term, take a look at my rationale and tell me why I'm wrong.
.png?w=480 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=480 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=480)
.png?w=600 "B/R NHL Staff Second-Round Predictions 🏒")
