When it comes to roster construction in the NHL, there’s an old saying: “you can’t build through free agency.” Basically, if a general manager (GM) has to rely on free agents to improve their roster, they’re not going to build something that will stand the test of time.
We’ve seen many examples of that principle. The Minnesota Wild were supposed to usher in a new era of chasing championships when they signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year contracts in the summer of 2012. Instead, they never made it past the second round of the playoffs, and both were bought out of their contracts in 2021. Numerous individual signings across the league have been heralded by their specific markets, only for those contracts to look like wedding day acne within a season or two.
The Detroit Red Wings are not immune to this phenomenon. Over the last decade, fans across “Hockeytown” have seen their team sign Stephen Weiss and then buy him out after two years of a five-year contract back in 2015. Frans Nielsen was signed to a six-year pact in 2016, but was bought out with a year left on the deal. Even now, the Red Wings have a few contracts on their books that are producing negative value for the organization, which only exacerbates the fact that Detroit is near the top of the league in terms of payroll this season, thus leaving them very little room to work with under the salary cap.
But all of that would be fine if the team was chasing championships. The nature of a salary cap league is that Stanley Cup contenders are usually at or near the cap while rebuilding teams typically have plenty of leg room to maneuver their roster. The Red Wings, with a playoff drought that is quickly approaching a decade, are closer to the latter than the former. That creates a problem, one which has become a focus of much consternation across the fanbase: with the Red Wings’ heavy focus on bringing in free agents over the last few seasons, the results do not line up with the cap sheet.
That is especially a problem when you consider how many prospects on cheap rookie contracts look ready to contribute in the NHL.
Yzerman’s Free Agent Record
Before we can take a look at the free agent contracts that are currently hindering the Red Wings, it is important to note that not all free agent signings are created equal. Just as some signings are done to acquire the “missing piece” a team needs to start competing for championships, other…
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