This has been a surprising year for the Detroit Red Wings. By their own admission, the organization feels its at least a year, possibly two, ahead of schedule in the retooling phase.
Not only are the Wings pleased with their unexpected playoff run, they’re also delighted that their top minor-league team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, is playing for the American Hockey League championship.
Although the Wings have a reputation for finding "diamonds in the rough," they never would have predicted that they might have more NHL-caliber players than they originally thought.
It leaves the Wings feeling pretty good about their future. But they’re also aware that they need to shore up their forward corps with a veteran, proven goal-scorer or at least a forward who has an offensive upside.
The Wings are likely looking to bring back forwards Daniel Cleary and Drew Miller, while losing Valtteri Filppula to free agency. Depending on the money, they might reluctantly part with Damien Brunner, too.
Whether Detroit uses one or both of its compliance buyouts appears to be a bit murky. The Wings haven’t tipped their hand one way or another, but they have through the end of next season to make that decision.
If the Wings do elect to use their buyouts, the two top candidates should be Mikael Samuelsson and Todd Bertuzzi. Each veteran forward was injured this season.
With a suddenly abundant group of young NHL-ready forwards, Detroit might jettison Samuelsson. They’ll likely keep Bertuzzi because of his positive influence with the team’s youngsters.
What other teams do with their compliance buyouts will determine if Detroit adds a veteran, top-four defenseman or not. The Wings are extremely upbeat about their young and big defensemen. They view the upcoming free-agent class of defensemen as awfully weak.
However, if a team buys out a top-four blue-liner, the Wings would certainly be in the bidding for his services.
The Wings aren't overly thrilled with this year’s crop of free-agent forwards either, but they believe there’s a few who could contribute to their currently inconsistent group.
After looking the list over, these are the forwards Detroit should target in the free-agent market:
Nathan Horton – I have to confess, I’ve always liked Horton as a player and believed he was being wasted in Florida for years. As a Bruin, Horton has been a valuable asset. He’s having a tremendous playoff with 17 points, including seven goals in 16 games thus far. Horton is big (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) and young (he just turned 28). His downside is that he has injury issues, especially with concussions. When he’s healthy, Horton is a skilled right winger who scores goals. He’ll be sought after by a slew of teams. I can’t see Detroit getting into a bidding war for Horton.
Bryan Bickell – Bickell has emerged as the "it" free agent, based on his exceptional postseason play. The 6-4, 233-pound Bickell has 13 playoff points, including eight goals so far for Chicago. He’s a power forward who might have just priced himself out of Detroit’s range.
Jarome Iginla – It doesn’t matter if the Wings weren’t on his list of four teams he wanted to go to at the trade deadline. Hopefully, the Wings' run has convinced the future Hall of Famer that Detroit could be a legitimate contender and destination for his services. It’s worth a shot for the Wings to make at least a phone call.
David Clarkson – Clarkson is an agitating winger who has offensive skill. He might not be a gifted goal-scorer, but he has a very good all-around game. His offense could also flourish with the Wings after being with an offensively challenged Devils tream for the last six seasons.
Viktor Stallberg – Stallberg is a dark-horse candidate and could be the steal of this year’s free-agent class. A big (6-3, 210 pounds) and speedy forward, he's shown offensive ability but has really tanked it during Chicago’s playoff run. He hash just three points in 15 games and zero goals. He should come cheap. He'd be playing with many of his Swedish countrymen and could be the "change of scenery" type player that the Wings embrace.
Whether any of the above players becomes a Red Wing or not remains to be seen, and with the unrestricted free-agency beginning July 5, a lot can still happen. Except for Iginla, each player is under 30 years old and has an upside that should appeal to and fit in well with the Red Wings.
From all indications, the Wings are eager and in a better position to be more active this offseason than originally anticipated.
