First though what is the difference between an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and a restricted free agent (RFA)? Well, unrestricted free agents are a minimum 27 years of age or have at least 7 years NHL experience and are free to sign with the team of their choice. Restricted free agents are less than 27 or have less than 7 years in the NHL. The team of an RFA needs to make a qualifying offer (5-10% pay increase, it varies based on the previous years salary) to retain the rights to their RFA and keep him restricted. If the RFA doesn’t like the offer, he can shop himself around in free agency and sign an offer sheet from another team, but his original team retains the right to match the offer. If the team chooses not to, the player goes to the other team, and the original team gets a draft pick or picks by way of compensation. If a team doesn’t present a qualifying offer to their RFA the player becomes unrestricted for that year. He can then sign with another team. If his contract comes up again before he meets UFA standards, he is still restricted.
Makes sense?
Anyways, lets take a look at some of the restricted and unrestricted free agents for the Wings going into this off-season.
Forwards
Kris Draper (UFA) – Center – Age: 40
2010-11 salary: 1.25
Kris Draper will probably go down as the best dollar spent by the organization in its history. With that said there probably will never be another player acquired by the Wings for only a dollar and Draper has certainly been a tremendous asset to the Wings throughout his career.
Draper has indicated that he would like to play another year however at 40 years of age he’s going to have a hard time finding playing time on the Wings and around the league.
Prediction: Draper can still be an asset on the penalty kill, he’s a hard worker, provides leadership in the locker room and depth. I cannot see Draper playing on any other team than the Wings and why at 40 would he uproot his family to play for another team? As long as he is ok with a limited role and a limited salary he will be back for one final year with the team.
Mike Modano (UFA) – Center – Age: 41
2010-11 salary: 1.25
Mike Modano came to the Wings in search of one final shot at the Stanley Cup. That obviously didn’t happen and instead most of his season was plagued by a scary wrist injury in which it was lacerated early in the year forcing him to miss several months.
Once playoff time came around Modano found himself in a very unfamiliar position, a healthy scratch.
Like Draper it’s hard to imagine Modano going anywhere else in the league and finding adequate playing time.
Prediction: If Modano were to return for one more season it will be with the Wings, however he indicated at the end of the season that he is leaning towards retirement and that’s probably what he will do.
Cory Emmerton (RFA) – Center – Age: 23
2010-11 salary: .500
Cory Emmerton was drafted 41st overall in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
This past season he played in two games for the Red Wings and on his first night up with the team on January 22nd he scored his first NHL goal against Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Prediction: The Wings will give Emmerton a qualifying offer and he will re-sign with the team starting next season in Grand Rapids.
Patrick Eaves (UFA) – Right Wing – Age: 27
2010-11 salary: .750
Patrick Eaves proved to be a pretty effective 3rd and 4th liner with the Wings this past season. Because of this past season with the Wings there’s a chance he gets some good attention on the market.
Prediction: In order for the Wings to keep Eaves, he will need to get a raise in his salary. I believe the Wings will do this and retain his services for next season.
Drew Miller (UFA) – Left Wing – Age: 27
2010-11 salary: .650
Drew Miller is another 3rd/4th line forward that served the Wings well this past season. He did find himself as a healthy scratch at some points during the regular season and once the playoffs rolled around.
Prediction: There is a chance that the Wings re-sign both Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves. However like Eaves there’s a chance that Miller gets a better deal to play elsewhere next season and the Wings may opt to give Millers spot to an up and coming forward like Jan Mursak and/or Tomas Tatar. With that said Miller will probably find his way out of Detroit in 2011-12.
Defense
Nicklas Lidstrom (UFA) – Defense – Age: 41
2010-11 salary: 6.2
Nicklas Lidstrom has proven that for him, age is only a number. Once again this past season Lidstrom was one of the best defensemen in that NHL and in doing so was yet again named as a finalist for the Norris Trophy which recognizes that top defenseman in the league.
Without having to deal with any type of major injury throughout his career, Lidstrom looks like a player that can play more than one more season.
Prediction: If the Wings were to win the Stanley cup this past season or if Lidstrom were to have some type of injury which would continue to limit his play I could see him retiring. Neither of those happened. With that said Lidstrom is simply playing too well to hang up the skates now meaning that he will come back to the Wings for one final season.
Ruslan Salei (UFA) – Defenseman – Age: 36
2010-11 salary: .750
Ruslan Salei signed as a free agent with the Wings prior to this past season to replace Andreas Lilja and like Lilja he was a times a defensive liability. In addition to this Salei ended up sharing time with Jakub Kindl.
Prediction: Salei was brought on board to give Kindl another year of seasoning. After serving this purpose the Wings and Salei will part ways.
Jonathan Ericsson (UFA) – Defenseman – Age: 27
2010-11 salary: 1.25
Ericsson had a lot of promise coming up through the Wings system. He possessed size and skill, something the Wings have been missing on the blue line ever since they lost Vladamir Konstantinov after the 1996-97 season.
Ericsson hasn’t quite lived up to that potential however has shown flashes that he can be an effective presence on the blue line for the Wings.
Prediction: Ericsson has said that he would like to return to the team however like some other their younger UFA’s there is a good chance that they find better deals with other teams. However there is still potential with Ericsson and because of that I think the Wings will be able to retain Ericsson next season.
Derek Meech (UFA) – Defenseman – Age: 27
2010-11 salary: .500
Unfortunately for Meech he has never really been able to get away from Grand Rapids of the NHL. He was named to the Red Wings final roster during training camp prior to the 2007–08 NHL season. He would have been exposed to waivers had he been sent to the minor leagues, which factored into the team’s decision. Despite this he was placed on waivers by the team on September 8th 2010 and after he passed through he was assigned back to Grand Rapids of the AHL.
Prediction: After not being able to be a mainstay with the Wings he has expressed his desire to find opportunities elsewhere. Now that he is a UFA he will do just that.
Goaltenders
Chris Osgood (UFA) – Goaltender – Age: 38
2010-11 salary: 1.1
Chris Osgood has been extremely fortunate throughout his career in terms of not having to deal with any type of significant injury that would keep him out for any long stretch of time. That was until this season when perhaps age caught up to Osgood. Back in January the veteran goaltender underwent Sports Hernia Surgery that ended up keeping him out for the remainder of the regular season and throughout the playoffs.
Osgood, who has had a tremendous career winning over 400 games and multiple Stanley Cups says he would like to return but plans on discussing his future with his family and Wings GM Ken Holland.
Prediction: Even at 38 years of age, and as long as he is healthy, Osgood can be a viable number two on this team. According to him he was healthy at the end of the season and in the playoffs however the Wings decided to go with Joey MacDonald since he was able to get more playing time in before the playoffs began. Because Osgood can still play at an NHL level, not mention he knows the system and can continue to serve as a mentor to Jimmy Howard the Wings will bring Osgood back for one more season as a backup.
Jordan Pearce (RFA) – Goaltender – Age: 24
2010-11 salary: .662
Pearce joined the Wings back in 2009 after four years of playing at the University of Notre Dame. In 2007–08 he was named CCHA Goaltender of the year and in 2008–09 he was a finalist for the CCHA MVP as well as being named the CCHA scholar-athlete of the year.
Prediction: With Tomas McCollum not being close to NHL ready the Wings are going to need another goaltender down in the minors who they can relay on to call up in case their backup goes down. The Wings will offer Pearce a qualifying offer and retain him next season.
Joey MacDonald (UFA) – Goaltender – Age: 31
2010-11 salary: .550
This past season Joey MacDonald found himself as the number two goalie when Chris Osgood went down with injury and at times was the number one when Jimmy Howard suffered some injuries that kept him out a few games. In the backup role MacDonald at times looked very shaky while other times it looked as though he could sustain being a backup goaltender in the NHL.
One thing that remains certain about MacDonald is that at 31 years of age he do no better than that of a backup goaltender in the NHL.
Prediction: Because of the playing time he got this past season, MacDonald is going to test the market and find a team that can give him adequate playing time. With that said the Wings too will explore other options at the backup goaltending position.
Free Agency
First of all I’m going to be blunt with Red Wings fans out there when I say don’t expect the Wings to go out and make a big splash in the free agent market. With Nicklas Lidstrom likely coming back the Wings are probably going to opt to sign a lot of their own unrestricted and restricted free agents this off-season. Not to mention they may also decide to fill positions with players ready to come up from Grand Rapids like Jan Mursak and Tomas Tatar.
This however doesn’t mean the Wings aren’t going to see what’s out there.
This off-season the Wings are going to be looking for backup goaltending and a goalscorer. However goalscorers are like pitchers in the MLB, you can never have enough of them so the Wings may have to settle for a 2nd or 3rd line scorer.
Here are some players the Wings could target this off-season…
Brooks Laich (UFA) – Center – Washington Capitals
2010-11 salary: 2.4 Age: 27
Being stuck on a team with Alexander Ovechking, Brooks Laich is probably one of the more underrated players in the league. He can be used on the power play, the penalty kill and is good for around 20 goals a season. Laich is also a good locker room guy that can provide leadership. He can be had by the Wings if Laich is reasonable on the market this off-season.
Brad Richards (UFA) – Center – Dallas Stars
2010-11 salary: 7.8 Age: 31
Richards is the prize of the free agent class this summer and because of this the Wings will have to make at least one phone call. However don’t count on Richards coming to Detroit. He’s simply going to command too much money on the market.
Ville Leino (UFA) – Left Wing – Philadelphia Flyers
2010-11 salary: .825 Age: 27
Former Red Wing Ville Leino really found his niche when he left Detroit and joined up with the Flyers. I wouldn’t suspect a reunion for the Wings with Leino since he will be getting a pretty good raise with whomever team he decides to sign with.
Andrew Brunette (UFA) – Left Wing – Minnesota Wild
2010-11 salary: 2.000 Age: 37
Brunette is a guy the Wings will like since he’s hard worker, goes to the front the net and gets a lot of deflections especially on the power play. Holmstrom and Franzen may have that locked down next season but Brunette could serve as a viable option on the 3rd line like Modano did this past season. Like Modano, Brunette is nearing the end of his career and may try to find a team to hook up with that can win the Cup.
Simone Gagne (UFA) – Left Wing – Tampa Bay Lightning
2010-11 salary: 5.250 Age: 31
Gagne is probably going to find his way out of Tampa Bay in favor of Steven Stamkos. Stamkos however is a guy that can provide leadership and good second tier scoring. I suspect though he may be a tad outside Detroit’s price range this off-season.
J.S. Giguere (UFA) – Goaltender – Toronto Maple Leafs
2010-11 salary: 7.000 Age: 34
Wings fans are very familiar with Giguere during his days with the Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately for Giguere he became a flop in Toronto with his bloated contract. However I suspect Giguere is going to try to find work as a starter this off-season and command too much money.
Ty Conklin (UFA) – Goaltender – St. Louis Blues
2010-11 salary: 1.400 Age: 35
Another goalie Wings fans are very familiar with is Ty Conklin who served as the Wings’ backup in the 2008-09 season. After signing with the Blues he had a poor showing which may end up putting his salary right where the Wings like it.
Jose Theodore (UFA) – Goaltender – Minnesota Wild
2010-11 salary: 1.100 Age: 34
With Niklas Backstrom as their starter and Josh Harding likely coming back from injury to be the teams backup, Theodore has probably found his way out of Minnesota. His 1.1 salary is very workable as well for the Wings.
Marty Turco (UFA) – Goaltender – Chicago Blackhawks
2010-11 salary: 1.300 Age: 35
Michigan alum Marty Turco signed a one year contract prior to this past season to be the Blackhawks’ number one goaltender. He quickly found himself on the outside looking in when Corey Crawford came in and played remarkably. Turco may still believe he can be that number one guy in the NHL which will have him looking elsewhere other than the Wings.
Source: Detroit News, NHLNumbers.com