NHL Free Agency 2011: Detroit Red Wings and 4 Highly Unlikely Potential Signings

The time following the Stanley Cup Finals leading up to the NHL Draft is a very exciting time, and it leads to much anticipation.

However, for Detroit Red Wings fans like myself, the bigger time of the offseason happens as soon as the calendar turns to July.

The calendar turning to July marks the start of free agency in the NHL, and every year, Detroit seems to procure one or more free agents that always end up making an eventful impact on the team's success for the year.

This free agency period promises to be equally as entertaining, as Detroit and General Manager Ken Holland must try to find a "replacement" for Brian Rafalski, and possibly for Nick Lidstrom as well.

This article will explore the five most unlikely players to join the Red Wings. These players are both unrestricted and restricted free agents.

#1 Jaromir Jagr

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NEW YORK - MAY 01: Jaromir Jagr #68 of the New York Rangers acknowledges the crowd after being named the second star after his team defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs a

Jaromir Jagr is a future Hockey Hall of Famer. But after three years away from the NHL game, Jagr's skills in the NHL game may not be where they should be to stage a comeback.

Some have doubted the skill level of the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner. But Jagr likes a challenge, according to NHL.com, Jagr believes that he will be a better player than when he left.

Jagr's agent, Petr Sykora, has reached out to several teams to gauge their interest. Detroit, being a team that Jagr is interested in, should not look too much into Jagr playing for them next year.

Jagr is an excellent player, as he showcased in the World Championships this year with a hat trick against the USA.

But Jagr would likely not sign for less than $2 million. Detroit could easily re-sign other pending free agents of their own, such as Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller, for the same amount of money combined.

Jagr may have one of the most prolific hockey careers of all time, currently sitting ninth on the all-time scoring list.

But letting go of Detroit's Eaves and Miller just to sign an older, slower Jagr does not make sense for the Red Wings, making Jagr's chance of playing with Detroit next year very small.

#2 Brad Richards

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 02: Brad Richards #91 of the Dallas Stars skates against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on April 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Brad Richards (per CapGeek.com) currently makes $7,800,000 a year.

After Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk announced that Richards would be playing elsewhere next year because of lack of a stable ownership situation, It was announced via the Sporting News that Nieuwendyk was working to trade Richards before Richards became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

The only possible way Detroit could get a Brad Richards-type player would be if a trade fell through and Richards became a free agent.

Even if a trade fell through, Richards would have to sign for less than his $7.8 million a year, not more.

Richards may not be as Cup hungry because he won a cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay, but he would still be a good sign if Detroit could sign him for $6.5-7 million dollars a year.

The probability of him not getting traded and passing up on a higher salary during free agency leaves me to believe that this deal will probably not work out in Detroit's favor either, leaving Richards to sign with a team willing to offer him more money.

#3 Zach Parise

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 02: Zach Parise #9 of the New Jersey Devils waits for a faceoff during an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadians at the Prudential Center on April 2, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

Before this season, in which he played only 13 games due to a knee injury, Parise was a force for the Devils, putting up 146 goals and totaling 303 points in the previous four seasons.

Putting the restricted free agent Zach Parise on this list seems almost foolish, as New Jersey has just filed for arbitration with Parise, eliminating the possibility of any team signing him to an offer sheet.

Fortunately for Red Wings fans and other teams hoping to land this prized RFA, all hope is not lost.

Two situations could find Parise playing for a different team next year.

The Devils could be forced to walk away from the fore-mentioned arbitration award, as their cap space is limited, and Parise would then be an unrestricted free agent, able to sign wherever he wished.

The second way that Parise could find himself playing for another team would be via trade.

It would cost an arm and a leg and more to acquire Parise that way, so fans best not get their hopes up too much for that to pan out.

Parise's price tag along with his RFA status makes him doubtful to appear with any point except for the Devils come next season.

#4 Keith Yandle

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

DETROIT, MI- APRIL 13: Keith Yandle #3 of the Phoenix Coyotes shoots the puck against the Detroit Red Wings in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena on April 13, 2011 in Detroit, Mich

Putting Keith Yandle in a Red Wings sweater would make me the happiest Red Wings fan on the face of the planet.

This guy is gifted, really, really gifted.

Phoenix currently holds the rights to Yandle, but Yandle made only $1,200,000 (per CapGeek.com) this year, and he is due for a sizable raise.

Phoenix might have a problem giving him that raise. This is largely because of its widely known financial woes. Ask any hockey fan about Phoenix's financial woes and they will surely agree that they are the laughing stock of the league.

Brian Rafalski's somewhat unexpected retirement from Detroit less than a month ago freed up $6 million for Detroit to spend.

With the unstable financial situation in Phoenix and Detroit looking to fill a major hole on the blue line, it would work out perfectly for Yandle to make an appearance in a Red Wings uniform next year.

Phoenix surely wouldn't let an offer to Yandle go unchallenged, but it Phoenix might have a short leash as far as the amount of cash it can spend this year.

The City of Glendale pitched another $25 million to keep the team in Glendale.

Raising the salary of RFA Yandle could be an issue in the coming off season, and if the team went to arbitration and the award was high enough, Phoenix could ultimately not have enough (or not want to spend enough) cash to spend on Yandle.

Yandle coming to Detroit seems highly unlikely at this point, but an offer sheet for about $6 million would be well worth the first, second and third round picks Detroit would have to give up in compensation.

The Likely Solution

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MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 18: James Wisniewski #20 of the Montreal Canadiens turns up ice with the puck in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Boston Bruins during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on April 18

Long story short, none of the fore-mentioned players will be signed.

What will most likely happen is that the Red Wings will go after a player like Montreal Canadiens UFA James Wisniewski.

Wisniewski had 51 points last year, and 21 of those came with the lowly New York Islanders.

His plus minus, -14, is an issue for some, but the minus came with the Islanders and he was a plus player playing with the Canadiens.

He currently makes (via CapGeek.com) $3,250,000, but a nice raise to $5-5.5 million a year could possibly persuade him to sign with Detroit.

The keys to all of Detroit's free agent questions rest in the hands of Ken Holland. Needless to say it will be intriguing to see who and how many players Mr. Holland goes after, it will be another active free agent period to say the least.