The Detroit Red Wings are expected to be one of the more active teams in free agency as Detroit looks to add talent to its roster.
The Red Wings have missed the playoffs in nine straight seasons, and Detroit is looking to put that streak to an end. Detroit could upgrade everywhere on its roster, but adding more offense is key.
NHL analyst Todd Matthews of OctopusThrower of FanSided links the Red Wings to Ryan Donato of the Chicago Blackhawks.
“If the Blackhawks don’t re-sign Ryan Donato, I’ll be surprised,” Matthews wrote. “But if they let him test the market, the Red Wings must at least make a strong push. Donato probably won’t be the 31-goal, 62-point producer he was last season, but he’d give the Wings a real scoring threat on the third line.”
Donato completed his two-year, $4 million deal and had a stellar year to bolster his free agency. With the Blackhawks last season, Donato recorded 31 goals and 31 assists for 62 points in 80 games, which was a career-high.
It was double his previous career-high in points, so it is uncertain if he can keep this up. However, if he can, Donato would be a middle-six forward for the Red Wings and add some much-needed depth scoring.
What is Donato Expected to Get in Free Agency?
Despite having a career year, Donato isn’t expected to get a hefty deal in free agency.
DailyFaceoff’s insider Frank Seravalli ranked Donato as the 21st-best free agent. Using AFP Projections, the outlet projects Donato to sign a three-year deal worth $4.2 million per season.
At $4.2 million per season, it is a fair price, despite it being over double what he made last season. But with the salary cap going up, players will be getting more money this offseason, and Donato will be included.
Donato played on Chicago’s top line alongside Connor Bedard and Ilya Mikheyev. He was also on the second power-play unit. However, on a legit Stanley Cup contender, Doanto is more of a second or third-line winger who can also chip in on the power play.
Red Wings GM Open to Being Active in Offseason
With Detroit having not made the playoffs in nine years, the Red Wings are looking to be aggressive.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman says they are open to signing prominent free agents and the big names. He also says they are looking to upgrade their young core as Yzerman believes Detroit is ready to compete.
“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 enters the offseason with just over $21.3 million in cap space.
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