Red Wings Still Have UFA Targets To Chase

Fan excitement over potential Detroit Red Wings multiple signings during today’s opening day of free agency has been replaced by hope the Red Wings can land one UFA who can help them.

With multiple team re-signings and Mitch Marner’s trade-and-sign situation with the Vegas Golden Knights, the UFA marketplace is significantly less appealing than it was a few days ago.

But here are some players the Red Wings could still be interested in:

UFA Left Wing Nicolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

Last week, Ehlers was one of the more desirable UFAs. After the smoke cleared from yesterday’s wildfire of re-signings, Ehlers was the most desirable forwards in the marketplace. He is also one of the NHL’s most consistent scorers, registering 21 or more goals in eight of the past nine seasons. In his one miss, Ehlers still had 38 points in 45 games.

We still can’t rule out Ehlers going back to Winnipeg. He plans to talk to him again, and the Carolina Hurricanes are considered the favorite to land the Denmark native.

UFA Center/Wing Mikael Granlund,  Dallas Stars

Underrated forward Granlund could center Detroit’s second line, allowing Marco Kasper to rejoin the first line as a winger. But Granlund could also slot into the Dylan Larkin first line. No matter where he plays, he would make Detroit’s top six more dangerous.  A quality playmaker, Granlund shows 60-plus points in each of the past two seasons.

The rub is that the 33-year-old Finn Granlund has a fan club of general manager interested in signing him.

But the Red Wings, with plenty of cap space, will be a competitor bidder in the Ehlers sweepstake.

UFA Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles Kings

The big Russian left-shot defenseman would be a nice great fit to play alongside Moritz Seider, but there is rumbling in the marketplace that the Rangers want him to play with Adam Fox. There’s also talk that he would like to go to New York.

Gavrikov is asking for big money, beyond $8 million, and he may get it based on the number of teams interested in him.

UFA Right Wings Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks

In eight plus seasons in Vancouver, Boeser established himself as a dependable 50-plus point scorer. Two seasons ago, he scored 40 goals. He boasts six seasons of scoring 23 or more goals. The Red Wings need a player with a proven history of finding the net.

The one issue is that some believe that Boeser would like to return to his home-state of Minnesota to play for the Wild.

Other interesting players: D Ryan Lindgren, D Nick Perbix, LW Anthony Beauvillier,  C Pius Suter, C Jack Roslovic.