The Detroit Red Wings enter the offseason with plenty of cap space to make a move, and one insider expects them to be aggressive.
NHL insider Max Bultman of The Athletic laid out his ideal offseason with predictions on what Detroit will do. One of his major predictions is that the Red Wings will sign star defenseman Aaron Ekblad to a seven-year deal worth $7.75 million per season, which comes out to $54.25 million.
“The big addition was Aaron Ekblad — one of the top two defensemen on the free-agent market,” Bultman wrote. “I’d imagine Ekblad and Vladislav Gavrikov will cost about the same, so you can imagine him in that top four instead if you’d like, but I felt Ekblad’s local ties (he’s a Windsor native) made him a little more realistic.
“Certainly, this defense corps is immediately more imposing,” Bultman added. “Ekblad is a former No. 1 pick who plays 23 minutes a night on the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. He’s a 6-foot-4 defenseman who can play physical and bring offense. In this current playoff run, he’s been especially productive with 10 points in 12 games. He could be an excellent partner for Simon Edvinsson.”
Ekblad is in the final year of his eight-year, $60 million deal with the Panthers. The former first overall pick would add some more veteran experience to the lineup, as well as cement the blue line.
Ekblad recorded 3 goals and 30 assists for 33 points in 56 games this season with the Panthers.
Insider Believes Ekblad is Worth The Gamble for Red Wings
Detroit needs to be aggressive this offseason, and signing Ekblad would be a massive deal.
Ekblad would be a top-four defenseman for the Red Wings and be a shutdown defender. He’s 29, and he plays a physical game, so many are worried about how his body will hold up. However, Bultman thinks it is worth the risk, even if the last couple of years don’t look as good.
“The big question is how he will age,” Bultman wrote. “He’s already had a hard time staying healthy in his career, and late this season, he was suspended 20 games for violating the terms of the league’s performance-enhancing substance program. Carrying around that big body certainly comes with physical wear and tear, so giving out this kind of contract to the 29-year-old would have to mean confidence from the Red Wings that they can build a winner in the first half or so of the deal to make the most of it.”
Ekblad can play 20+ minutes a night on the blue line and also chip in offensively. He would also be a good leader for the Red Wings’ young blue liners like Moritz Seider.
Red Wings GM Will Entertain Signing Top Free Agents
Detroit enters the offseason with plenty of cap space to make a move to help end its playoff drought.
Ahead of the offseason, Yzerman said he would be open to the team signing a prominent free agent this offseason.
“We’ve kind of felt that all along, we’re going to look at any good player. Any player that can help us in any role. If there’s a player worthy of spending whatever amount on, that has an interest in playing in Detroit and fits a need for us, absolutely we would try to do that,” Yzerman said. “We’re in a different stage than we were maybe five years ago in that we have a good young nucleus of players. And if we can add to that with a prominent free agent, we’d certainly entertain that.”
Detroit has just over $21.3 million in cap space.
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