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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important jobs of any CEO. Teams that can avoid utter ceiling chaos by walking a tightrope from inking players to deals that match their value (or offset future value without breaking the bank) continue to be successful. Those who do not see the struggles and changes of the front office.
PHR will be reviewing all NHL teams and providing an in-depth look at their cap situation for the 2020-2021 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars in training versus those who might find themselves shuttling between the AHL and the NHL. All heading numbers are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Detroit Red Wings
Current Cap Hit: $ 73,886,389 (below the upper limit of $ 81.5 million)
Entry-level contracts
F Mathias Brome (one year, $ 925K)
re Moritz Seider (three years, $ 894,000)
F Filip Zadina (two years, $ 894,000)
F Michael rasmussen (one year, $ 894,000)
re Dennis Cholowski (one year, $ 894,000)
re Gustav lindstrom (one year, $ 775,000)
re Filip Hronek (one year, $ 714,000)
F Givani smith (one year, $ 714,000)
Potential Bonuses
Zadina: $ 850,000
Rasmussen: $ 850,000
Seider: $ 850,000
Bromine: $ 213K
Hronek: $ 158,000
Smith: $ 158,000
Lindstrom: $ 133,000
Total: $ 3.21M
The only thing Detroit is full of are young talent with entry-level contracts. While not all have gained full-time roles on the team yet, others are ready to step in to try and gain a bigger role. Currently, only Zadina and Hronek have secured full-time roles. Zadina got a full-time role at the end of the season last year as he scored eight goals and made his way down the second row to start the season. Hronek has been the team’s best defenseman for some time now and has already grown into an impressive defender.
Seider is an interesting case. The defender was originally scheduled to be in training camp, but with the long delay of the season, the team has instead loaned him to the SHL for the entire season he thrives. However, once the SHL season is over Seider is likely to arrive in Detroit and resume a full-time role in a few months and could quickly become the team’s best defenseman.
Brome impressed after signing a one-year contract, while Rasmussen, Smith, Cholowski and Lindstrom are currently part of the taxi team, hoping to find their way into the lineup as the year progresses .
One year remaining, non-beginner
F Henrik Zetterberg ($ 6.08 million, UFA)
F Marc Staal ($ 5.7 million, UFA)
F Darren Helm ($ 3.88 million, UFA)
F Tyler bertuzzi ($ 3.5M, RFA)
F Valtteri Filppula (3 M $, UFA)
re Patrik Nemeth (3 M $, UFA)
g Jonathan bernier (3 M $, UFA)
F Luke glendening ($ 1.8 M, UFA)
F Bobby ryan ($ 1 million, UFA)
re Christian Djoos ($ 1 M, RFA)
F Adam erne ($ 998,000, RFA)
re Jonathon Merrill ($ 925,000, UFA)
re Alex runs ($ 875,000, UFA)
F Sam Win ($ 850,000, UFA)
The Detroit Red Wings have taken advantage of the fact that they’re a little under the cap and that probably won’t change next year as several of those old long-term deals are set to expire next season, including including those of Zetterberg, Staal, Helm and Glendening among others. This should give the team even more advantages on the road and could make them free agency players if they feel they are closer to the competition.
Bertuzzi is also on the line for a bigger case. RFA signed a one-year bridging deal, but if the front-row winger can make big numbers again, he could be in line for a significant raise. Bertuzzi has scored 21 goals in each of the past two seasons and has become a go-to scorer for the team. Bernier has been solid since signing last offseason. Despite being on a team with weak defense, Bernier played 46 games and still maintained a .907 save percentage, making him a solid tandem goalie.
Detroit and General Manager Steve yzerman have also invested in veteran players who can help the team develop and avoid ending up last. Players like Ryan, Filppula, Merrill, Erne and Gagner will all have to prove themselves if they are to return next year.
Two years left
F Frans Nielsen ($ 5.25 million, UFA)
re Danny DeKeyser ($ 5 million, UFA)
g Thomas greiss ($ 3.6 M, UFA)
F Robby fabbri ($ 2.95 million, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($ 2 M, UFA)
re Troy stecher ($ 1.7 M, UFA)
If you think the team will start racking up some serious caps two years from now, you’d be wrong. The team has a number of other contracts hitting the books in two years, including those from Nielsen and DeKeyser. Nielsen was once a top scorer in Detroit, but only scored four goals in 60 games last season and could slowly be knocked out of the roster as the young players prove they are ready. DeKeyser is playing a bigger role on the squad, but injuries have derailed his career in recent years. He’ll have to really step up his game to get any sort of expansion on the road.
The team have high expectations for Fabbri, who the team acquired in the mid-season last year at a cheap price. He then took his game up a notch, posting 14 goals and 31 points in 52 games. The 24-year-old has now moved onto the second row as he focuses on returning to center position. If he can keep it, he may be able to keep the promise he made when it was first drafted.
Yzerman has invested in several one-year contracts during the offseason, but has also gone out of his way to bring a few important players on two-year contracts. The team hope Greiss can pick up where he left off last year with the Islanders and be Bernier’s perfect complement at net. Greiss posted a .913 save percentage in 31 games last season and should be a solid net presence for Detroit this season. Namestnikov has also proven to be a solid mid-six player, who can play almost anywhere in the lineup. Stecher has also proven to be a player the Red Wings can use to help in the second and third pairing options to bolster his defense.
Three years left
F Dylan Larkin ($ 6.1 million, UFA)
There aren’t many long-term deals on the books already, but the team have three more years with Larkin, the team’s captain, at a reasonable salary. The deal was even better two years ago when he scored 32 goals and 73 points. Unfortunately, those numbers dipped slightly last season when he scored just 19 goals and 53 points in just five games less. Detroit must hope Larkin can return to his 2018-19 numbers with improved play under his wings and a team that isn’t mired in a horrific season. Either way, Larkin is the face of the franchise and, at just 24, is expected to continue to improve over the next few years.
Four or more years left
F Anthony mantha ($ 5.7 million until 2024-25)
Injuries kept Mantha from taking the next step in his game. The 26-year-old had 12 goals and 12 assists in his first 29 games before sustaining a mid-body injury when he was thrown onto the ice. by Toronto Jake muzzin. He came back and played well too, keeping his production of almost points per game with 14 points in 14 games before the game was over. Mantha looks set to take the next step in her development alongside Larkin and Bertuzzi. He scored 24 goals in 2017-18 and 25 goals in 2018-19 and would have exceeded those numbers had he not been injured. The new four-year deal could also look like a good deal if he continues to improve his game.
Redemptions
F Justin abdelkader ($ 1.8M in 2020-2021; $ 2.31M in 2021-22 and 2022-23; $ 1.06M from 2023-24 to 2025-2026)
F Stephen weiss ($ 1.67 M in 2020-2021)
Retained salary transactions
No
Still to sign
No
Best value: Larkin
Worst value: Nielsen
Look ahead
While once the Detroit Red Wings were in Cape Purgatory, the Red Wings have done a good job of slowly losing their pay as they rebuild and the team are slowly working to return to respectability, although they are still several years away from being a playoff team. Either way, the team should continue to release caps and will have that money to spend on free agents or recruiting their own young players when their entry contracts start to expire.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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