The Detroit Red Wings’ offseason is one where they’ve got some improvements to make around the roster if they want to escape the first round of the playoffs next season.
Wings general manager Ken Holland knows he’s got some work to get done to make the team better, but getting it done through free agency may be risky. As Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press shares, he’s willing to talk trade.
“I’m moving along slow to keep our options open,” Holland said. “We’ll see what’s out there via trade. But we feel good about our team, and our fallback position is our kids.
“We’re trying to move kids in, and also have the right amount of vets.”
Keeping the right number of veteran players is where things may get tricky for Holland.
The Red Wings have six potential unrestricted free agents on July 1, five of whom are forwards: Daniel Alfredsson, Danny Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson, and David Legwand. Those five make up a large part of the forward unit from last season. Defenseman Kyle Quincey could also test the free agent waters.
With younger players like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and Tomas Jurco playing such important roles down the stretch and into the postseason, Holland’s job figuring out how to set it all up won’t be easy.