In a recent article for the Detroit Free Press, Helene St James said that Ken Holland has notified the beat writers that veteran free agents Brad Richards and Kyle Quincey will not be returning to the Red Wings:
General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press today that he told “Brad Richards and Kyle Quincey that I definitely won’t sign them before July 1, if at all.” Both will be unrestricted free agents come July.
The remaining UFA players on the Red Wings roster are Drew Miller and Darren Helm. Personally I don’t believe either of them should return, but I think management values them differently than they do Quincey or Richards. The way I see it, not bringing back Quincey is a step in the right direction. Not that he was completely dreadful in his time here, he just added to the logjam. The Red Wings will now have some more roster space to bring in fresh faces to what has been an underperforming blue line.
There are still moves to be made. Ken Holland said that he will be aggressive with trades this offseason, so we still might see some players come and go. Until then, I think the Red Wings are off to a solid offseason so far with the moves they’ve made behind the bench.
