In Red Wings Land

NHL free agency: Red Wings should improve decor, not make sweeping changes | Freep

No rest for the weary. The draft is not even 24 hours old and we’re already moving forward towards free agency.

It makes no sense for the Wings to shell out the money it would take to secure Kevin Shattenkirk, the marquee defenseman expected to be available. Would he help them? Yes. Would he transform them into contenders? No.

The Wings can’t do it anyway because salary space is an issue. They have about $8 million to play with as it stands, but a chunk of that will go towards re-signing restricted free agents Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou, among others.

Hey... wait a minute... this actually is a very sensible take and I agree with what Helene has written. Don’t waste money in free agency. Simply re-sign your guys and continue to develop what you’ve got.

What makes sense on July 1 is to bring back forward Thomas Vanek on a two-year deal averaging no more than $3 million a season.

Okay... well... I guess... yeah... bringing back Vanek wouldn’t be a totally terrible idea. I’d prefer a one year deal, but if it’s a low cap hit I could probably stomach a two year deal. He’s not really going to block too many young players. Drew Miller shouldn’t be back. Steve Ott is a coach elsewhere now. Tomas Nosek is headed to Vegas. There are roster spots to be had.

The Wings also should consider signing one of defensemen Dan Girardi or Trevor Daley for a year – two at most – to help the back end. Girardi recently was bought out by the New York Rangers, so he may come in as motivated as Vanek was last season.

Oh... no... no no no no no. Please. No. Dan Girardi is not good at hockey anymore. Stay as far away from him as possible. If the Wings are going to be a bad hockey team, at least let them do it with their young players getting ice time, gaining experience and learning from their mistakes.

Around the League

Which team had the best draft in NHL history? | Puck Daddy

Detroit Red Wings, 1989

There’s a reason the Red Wings have a reputation as one of the league’s most savvy teams on the draft floor.

They’ve had some impressive drafts over the years, but nothing comes close to 1989.

Snagging Hall of Famers Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov in the mid rounds was a major coup, but they also acquired some quality players who went on to have long careers — and one who had his tragically cut short

Damn right the Red Wings better be on the list of contenders for this. Along with Lidstrom and Fedorov, Detroit drafted Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner, Dallas Drake and Vladimir Konstantinov. That’s one hell of haul.