Who’s Still Out There for Red Wings to Consider?

Although Nicolaj Ehlers hasn’t made up his mind about his next NHL destination, we can guess it’s not going to be the Red Wings.

The signings on Tuesday’s first day of free agency confirmed what everyone expected: The list of difference-making UFAs was short and the ones who did leave their teams had better options than a team that hasn’t played in the postseason since 2016.

Reports say Ehlers will take his time making a decision. However, the Red Wings are not mentioned as one of his possible finalists.

GM Steve Yzerman had improved his goaltending with the acquisition of John Gibson, but he still needs to upgrade his scoring and his defensive unit.

The Red Wings never really had a shot at most of the high profile potential free agents. The Panthers re-signed Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad.  Vladislav Gavrikov wanted to live in New York.  Mitch Marner decided early he wanted to go to Vegas.

It’s possible to know why Mikael Granlund chose Anaheim for three years at $7 million, but he could have helped Detroit as the No. 2 center or Dylan Larkin’s winger. Granlund is 33, and giving him four or five years would have been risky. Should the Red Wings have gone to $8 million?

Of course, we don’t know that the Red Wings didn’t offer $8 million. Maybe Granlund simply wanted to live in Southern California. That’s the element of free agency that cannot be controlled. Players sometimes take less money to play where they want to play.

UFAs still in play: Defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov, plus forwards Jack Roslovic, Anthony Beauvillier, Victor Olofsson, Gus Nyquist and Max Pacioretty among others.

What it means is that the Red Wings’ hope for improvement now rests in the trade market, and the continued improvement of young players, such as Marco Kasper, Moritz Seider, plus the possible arrival of Axel Sandin Pellikka, Carter Mazur and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.

Trade Market Possibilities

The trade market could yield some possibilities, including Dallas Stars’ Jason Robertson. If the Stars don’t believe they can re-sign him moving forward, they may move him. This is a player that has scored 151 goals over the past four seasons. That’s almost 38 goals per season.

The Stars reportedly want two first-round picks, and other primary assets. Yzerman likely would  part with picks and prospects to land Robertson.

Other possible players in the trade marker: Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson, Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byram, Minnesota center Marco Rossi, Pittsburgh forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Will  the Vegas Golden Knights move someone to ease the salary cap burden of Mitch Marner’s $12 million hit?