Detroit Red Wings: Top 3 free agents to consider in 2020
The Detroit Red Wings could be quite active this offseason. Here’s a look at the top three free agents they should go after.
The Detroit Red Wings are coming off one of the worst seasons in NHL history. There’s a decent chance the last NHL regular season game has been played for this season. If that’s the case, the Red Wigs will finish the 2019-20 season with the worst record of any team in the salary cap era.
General Manager Steve Yzerman will have his work cut out for him this offseason. Though he probably has a high draft pick waiting for him at the 2020 NHL Draft, Yzerman will have to look for ways to improve the worst team in the NHL. He’ll have several key free agents to re-sign, including forwards Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmytro Timashov, and Robby Fabbri.
On top of that, Yzerman will have a lot of cap space to play with, even if the salary cap ceiling remains stagnant. Before factoring in the RFAs, the Red Wings are projected to have over $30 million of cap space.
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The Red Wings have been bad for over three seasons now. Plus, the allure of their new arena is going to wear off quickly if they don’t field a competitive team. The time is now for the Red Wings to start taking the steps necessary to be a competitive team. Let’s take a look at the free agents the Red Wings should be taking a look at this offseason.
3. RobinLehner
One of the Red Wings biggest needs going into this offseason is their goaltending. Longtime starting goalie Jimmy Howard will be an unrestricted free agent and it’s time for Detroit to move on from him. There are some other interesting names out there who would serve as short-term options, but the Red Wings need to look at long-term options. Lehner’s the best one available.
Lehner will likely be searching for a long-term deal, just like he was last summer. If that’s the case, the Red Wings should aggressively go after him. They haven’t had a goalie of his caliber in quite some time. Lehner’s the kind of goalie who could help them become Stanley Cup contenders.