Detroit Redwings Off-Season - Lestat's Blog

Lestat's Blog

Detroit Redwings Off-Season

Posted on February 21, 2012 at 12:13 AM.

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The Redwings finished with the ultimate prize at the end of the season, Winning the Stanley Cup.

They finished the regular season 1pt behind Pittsburgh for 1st overall. They went out and added Dwayne Roloson when their backup goalie Joey McDonald stuggled. Roloson came in and won 5 games in his 7 starts. They then added Robyn Regher at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres. This addition made their blueline stronger and helped them finish 2nd in defense.

The went into the season with 4 rookies on the roster then called up a 5th five games into the season when their top line was struggling.

Many experts didn�t think the Wings would make the playoffs let alone win the cup because of how many rookies were in the lineup. Detroit usually lets their prospects develop till they are �over ripe� before they see time in Detroit. But the 5 rookies became key players for the Wings.

Tomas Jurco- the 19yo was called up from Grand Rapids and was thrown into the fire. He was inserted into the RW slot skating with Datsyuk and Filppula. He would finish with 25 goals and 48pts despite missing 12 games.

Gustav Nyquist- Was Grand Rapids leading scorer in the AHL, he earned a spot in the top 6. He was put on the ice with fellow Swedes Franzen and Zetterberg. Nyquist would finish with 27 goals and 46pts.

Brendan Smith- The Wings top blueline prospect that fans were waiting for. Made the club and was the teams #4 dman. Paired with Nicklas Kronwall all season long. Later would find himself with Lidstrom as a partner. He would finish the season with 26pts.

Tomas Tatar- Another top player in GR, he would crack the lineup on the 3rd line. Finishing the season with 20pts, he would see less ice time until the playoffs when he was moved up into the top 6 and became a important player for the Wings in their cup run.

Ryan Murray- this 18yo blueliner surprised many when he was on the roster opening night. He was protected by the coaching staff, played as the 6th dman. But he did at times see ice time in the top 4 on the blueline. Despite 7pts on the season the coachs like what they see from their 2nd best blueline prospect.

Now the Wings enter the off-season and next season as the defending Stanley Cup champs. They do have questions this off-season

Will Captain Nicklas Lidstrom retire or come back?
What will Val Filppula want in terms of a new contract after his monster season?
Will they resign trade deadline acquisition Robyn Regher?
What will the young guns that are up for new contracts do in their negotiations?
Will the Wings go into the Free Agent market to add any pieces? If Lidstrom retires will there be a suitable replacement in the free agent market?
What does Detroit do with their 2 1st rd picks? Keep them and add more talent to their prospect pool or trade to move up in the draft and find a top flight talent who can play right now.
What will the Wings do with Franzen. Franzen lost his top 6 spot during the playoffs and didn�t find his way back. He played on the teams 4th line in the Cup finals.

Forwards:

Signed
Pavel Datsyuk
Tomas Jurco
Henrik Zetterberg
Peter Regin
Patrick Eaves
Tomas Tatar
Gustav Nyquist
Johan Franzen
Justin Abdelkader

Unsigned:
Valtteri Filppula (UFA)
Jan Mursak (RFA)

Defense:

Signed:
Niklas Kronwall
Jonathan Ericsson
Ryan Murray

Unsigned
Nicklas Lidstrom(UFA)
Robyn Regher (UFA)
Brendan Smith (RFA)
Jakub Kindl (RFA)

Goalies:

Signed:
Jimmy Howard

Unsigned:
Dwayne Roloson

1st up in the off-season is the NHL 2013 Entry Draft. Detroit goes into the draft with 2 1st rd picks, 27th and 29th overall picks. There has been rumors that Johan Franzen is being shopped and the team would like to package him along with a 1st rd pick to move up in the draft.

Talk is that the Wings will look at the center position in this draft and try to add to their depth there. Defense will be another target area again in this draft.