Detroit Red Wings Free Agents: 7 Players They Should Still Be Aiming to Sign

Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland might have a lot on his mind these days, but nothing can be weighing more on his mind than one specific question.

What does he do with the ~$5.4 million in cap space that he has at his disposal?

Some Wings fans are more content to play the waiting game, not spending any of the money this year, and instead save it for next season's push to re-sign Niklas Kronwall and possibly Brad Stuart.

Others are undecided, not sure whether to go out and push for another free agent or sit pat on the money as well.

But I say, no guts, no glory; Detroit lost a big point producer and puck moving defenseman (Rafalski) last year, a dynamite faceoff man (Draper), and a when healthy solid backup goaltender (Osgood).

The Wings have since brought back Ty Conklin to fill the backup goaltender position, but have yet to find a diamond in the rough to replace Rafalski's point output and replace Draper's faceoff prowess.

This article will show seven players that Detroit should try and target for their team this season.

1. Sergei Samsonov

Sergei Samsonov, former first-round pick of the Bruins in 1997, has never really dominated the game like people envisioned him doing when he was drafted.

Samsonov split between Florida and Carolina last season, but still managed to put up 40 points.

While I wouldn't pay him the $2.8 million he made last year, I'm sure Ken Holland could come to terms with the small forward, and convince him to come play in Detroit.

Samsonov would not solve Detroit's faceoff loss of Draper, but he would add some depth scoring on the bottom six forwards, and he could see his numbers rise playing with better talent in Motown.

The only problem would be eating the cap hit if Samsonov did not live up to the lofty Detroit expectations.

Maybe $2 million for a season and a chance to win a Cup would make Samsonov bite.

2. John Madden

If the 38-year-old John Madden does not hang 'em up this season, he should come to Detroit.

No question–if there was a guy to replace Kris Draper for one season (which is likely all he would get anyway) it would be John Madden.

Madden does it all, and while he isn't as fast as he was in his youth, Madden is a defensive mastermind just like Draper was.

In addition to the 25 points Madden had last year with the Wild, Madden also had 43 hits, 59 blocked shots and 44 takeaways.

Not bad for a guy who is 38 years old.

Oh, and he only had a cap hit of $1.25 million last season.

Sign him up for a one-year deal.

3. J.P. Dumont

Now, I know we don't need more wingers in Detroit, but hear me out.

J.P. Dumont was recently bought out by the Predators and will not play the last year of his contract with them.

Dumont was scheduled to make $4 million this season, but instead will make $1.33 million over the next two seasons instead.

That means he doesn't need cash as an incentive to sign.

Dumont put up a career low of 19 points last season, but in each of the previous three seasons, Dumont put up 45 points or more.

19 points doesn't seem like a lot, but he was playing with the anemic offense of Nashville, so a trip to Detroit would bring his numbers back up.

The Wings have already signed one cap-buyout victim this season, Mike Commodore.

Don't be surprised to see Ken Holland pull the trigger on this one—it might be too good to pass up.

Maybe a one-year deal worth $1 million?

4. Fredrik Sjostrom

So let me just go out and say that Fredrik Sjostrom is one of the most underachieving first-round picks of all time.

The Coyotes' 11th overall selection in the 2001 draft has never put up more than 23 points in the league, and put up a mere five points last season in 66 games.

Sjostrom only averaged 11 minutes of ice time a game, but he has become more of a situational player than anything else.

Sjostrom averaged about a minute-and-a-half of ice time on the penalty kill last season.

He only made $750,000 last season, but if he was offered a contract for about the same dollar amount by Ken Holland, he could make the team just on the basis of penalty killing.

The Wings penalty killing, as I have previously stated, was brutal last season, and if they look to press deeper in the playoffs next season, that is one area where Sjostrom could help them out.

Although he is not a center, and does not do well on faceoffs at just 33 percent, it would be a low-risk, low-reward investment.

Offer him a one-year deal worth $750,000.

5. Chris Campoli

I'm wasn't too big on Chris Campoli until I saw the numbers that he posted his rookie year with the New York Islanders: nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points.

Not bad for a rookie.

Campoli was reportedly awarded $2.5 million for the next season, and his former team the Blackhawks walked away from the offer.

If the Wings could sign Campoli for a $2 million cap hit for a two- or three-year deal it might be worth it to take the chance.

Campoli looked out of place at times with the Blackhawks, but finished the season with them with a plus/minus of three, and in the playoffs he picked up an assist and his plus/minus was three again.

Although he is not as big of a defenseman as others, Campoli seems to possess the foot speed that other defenseman lack.

If Campoli put up 34 points in his rookie year with the Islanders, I lick my chops at what he could do if he was paired with a bruising defenseman on the Red Wings.

Maybe a Kronwall or Stuart could pair up with him this season.

Campoli (per NHL.com) had 99 hits, 91 blocked shots and 19 takeaways this season, and he wouldn't be a bad fit on the third defensive pairing.

6. Anton Stralman

Stralman showed in 2009-10 that he could put up points with the Blue Jackets when he put up six goals and 28 assists for 34 points.

Now can he stay healthy?

After missing 15 games last season, the 25-year-old only managed to pick up 18 points last year.

If the Red Wings could lock him up for a two- or three-year deal, with a cap hit of $2.5 million, he could pan out nicely if he stays healthy.

Stralman was paid (per CapGeek.com) $1.95 million last season.

Despite his poor performance and low plus/minus numbers, anyone who knows anything about hockey knows that Detroit is a far superior team than Columbus, so signing Stralman (who is similar in size to Brian Rafalski) could end up being a great move for Detroit.

A two- or three-year deal for $2.5 million per season should do it if Holland wanted to pull the string on this one.

7. Nick Boynton

Nick Boynton may not be the right fit for Detroit, but any guy who has a salary of $500,000 and has 61 hits, 87 blocked shots and 15 takeaways can come try out for my team any day of the week.

The former first-round pick may have a hard time getting a new home, but if Fabian Brunnstrom can get a try out with Detroit, so could Boynton.

The Rundown

Before we go and write off anyone from trying out with the Red Wings, we should remember to take into account that a lot of the Red Wings current roster was written off by pro scouts in their draft years.

Detroit's Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both taken in the sixth round or later, and Lidstrom was taken in the first round.

Anyone and everyone can make it in the NHL, it just takes a good work ethic and a moderate amount of talent.

I believe that everyone on the fore-mentioned list here could receive an offer if Holland saw a need and decided to fill it, but the question is, will he?

That $5 million is a large chunk of change to sit on.