Steve Yzerman didn't have high hopes for the Red Wings in free agency, expecting the market to be sparse in a league with a rapidly-rising cap. He was ultimately proven right. While Yzerman was satisfied that "we were able to address some needs" in the depth department and in the crease via a trade for John Gibson, he wasn't surprised that the Red Wings failed to reel in a big fish. There just weren't many lines to be cast.
"We were certainly open to it," Yzerman said Thursday. "The guys that we were hoping to talk to all signed before free agency with their clubs or got traded, in the case of Mitch Marner. We didn’t even get an opportunity to talk to these guys. There’s not much you can do about that.
"Going into free agency, we all recognized that it was going to be difficult all around the league. It was just a season, for whatever reason, where there weren’t as many, what we would all consider, high-end free agents available, so it wasn’t really a shock to us that we weren’t able to get anything done with any of the bigger-name guys."
The Panthers alone took three of the top potential unrestricted free agents off the board before the market opened, all of whom would have been good fits with the Red Wings in defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forwards Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. The Golden Knights jumped the line by trading for and signing Mitch Marner. Brock Boeser stayed put with the Canucks. The best defenseman who went to free agency, Vladislav Gavrikov, took a lower-than-expected deal to sign with the Rangers.
"Truthfully, it’s hard to get players, like real difference-makers," Yzerman said. "In a 32-team league, how many difference-makers really make it to the market?"
The Red Wings wound up signing forwards James van Riemsdyk (1 year, $1 million) and Mason Appleton (2 years, $5.8 million) and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker (1 year, $875K). And while the trade market has been slow with so many teams flush with cap space, Yzerman is hopeful that it might pick up on the other side of free agency.
"There are a couple teams looking to do some things that we do have some interest in and are possibilities," Yzerman said. "But more so, something might come up over the summer for whatever reason in another organization. What I intend to do, once things settle down here, is to circle back next week with everyone to see what their plans are for the offseason, if they have any holes to fill or players for whatever reason that they want to move."
The Red Wings are still seeking a top-four defenseman, preferably a right-hand shot to play behind Moritz Seider. A free agent like Brent Burns would make sense. They also need a top-six winger to add some scoring and size alongside Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. If the cap-tight Stars are willing to move Jason Robertson, he's a natural fit, but they'll want roster players in return as a Cup contender.
The other path to improvement for the Red Wings as they try to snap a nine-year playoff is continued growth within from players like Seider, Raymond, Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper, but that alone likely won't be enough.
"I think today our team is a little bit more competitive, maybe constructed a little better than it was at this stage last year, so I’m hopeful that we take a step," Yzerman said.
Entering his seventh offseason at the helm in Detroit, Yzerman was keen on adding an impact player or two. He has the cap space and assets to make a move, but can't find the avenues to get there, at least not yet. He will keep searching for ways to get it done.
"I wouldn’t call it frustration," he said. "It’s been my experience over the years that things kind of work themselves out. Opportunities arise. You try to force it and try to chase it, there’s too many years, too many dollars or you give up too much in a trade. I think things have a tendency to work themselves out.
I’d say, trying to be diligent, maybe patient. Just wait for the right player, the right opportunity, whether it is in a trade or free agency to add to our lineup and use our assets wisely if we can, especially in the trade market. If we’re going to give up, as a team that’s building, rebuilding, our future assets, you want to make sure to the best you can that that player is going to have a positive impact on your team and be here for a while."