Comparing the Red Wings’ Rebuild to the Tigers’ Rebuild Doesn’t Work | DHN+

When Chris Ilitch told the media last week that the Detroit Tigers could start buying free agents this winter, you could almost hear Red Wings saying, “What about us?”

The problem is the Red Wings and Tigers are an apples and oranges comparison.  The Tigers play in a luxury tax league where it is commonplace for ownership to set a budget. The Red Wings are in a salary cap league where the vast majority of teams spend to the cap. To my knowledge, the Ilitch family has not imposed any restrictions on general manager Steve Yzerman’s ability to spend.