Quick Hits: The More D-Men Edition
In Red Wings Land
What are chances of Red Wings landing top free agent like Torey Krug? - MLive
Would it be the right move? Yes. Long-term contracts often become an albatross for teams in the final couple of seasons, but that’s the cost of doing business. The Red Wings need to add some talent, in addition to developing their own, to make significant strides.
Khan is back to writing about the Red Wings. He doesn’t think the team will land Krug and instead guesses they’ll go with stopgap options for the time being.
Around the NHL
25 NHL trade candidates you’ll hear about this off-season - Sportsnet
Just how many defencemen get moved out of Arizona is hard to say, and until they hire a new GM we can’t know the plan for sure. But they need to cut money and if there will be more of a focus on the prospect pipeline after the draft-pick penalties, then Hjalmarsson probably ranks No. 2 behind Ekman-Larsson as the most coveted Coyotes defencemen. A rock on the defensive side, Hjalmarsson has been loved around the league for years, going all the way back to his days in Chicago when he was once presented with an offer sheet from San Jose. Hjalmarsson has one year left on his contract with a $5 million cap hit.
Basically all the Coyotes’ defensemen are on this list because the team will likely be trying to cut salaries. OEL is a big piece, but he has a NMC and a big contract. Goligoski likely isn’t good enough, but Hjalmarsson might fall into the sweet spot.