The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up the 2023 NHL Draft yesterday and addressed some pressing needs they have now, but the players they took won’t help now. Tomorrow the 2023 NHL Free Agency period will open, and there are a lot of big names out there; Steve Yzerman, after the draft yesterday, mentioned three needs for the 2023 Detroit Red Wings, and they are a right-handed defenseman, a backup goalie (could also be someone who comes in and takes the job from Ville Husso), and some scoring. So, who could the Red Wings target? Let’s list some interesting names the Red Wings should look into adding to the 2023 team to fill out the roster.
Right-Handed Defenseman Options for the Detroit Red Wings
Matt Dumba
Dumba is a solid player who could add some intimidation to this team at the blue line; last season, he played in 79 games and recorded 14 points (four goals and ten assists). He also had 81 PIM, blocked 116 shots, and had 104 hits. In his career, he has played in 598 games with 236 points (79 goals and 157 assists); he has 399 PIM, 699 blocks, and 816 hits in his seven-year career.
Connor Clifton
Clifton is a UFA who would be a nice piece and fit nicely on the third defensive pairing or even the second; last year for the Bruins in their record-breaking season, he played in 78 games tallying 23 points (five goals and 18 assists), he was a +20 with 120 blocked shots and 208 hits. In his short career for the Bruins, he has played in 232 games and recorded 43 points (ten goals and 33 assists); he is a +37 with 208 blocked shots and a whopping 602 hits in four seasons.
Evan Bouchard
Bouchard is a restricted free agent, so he most likely will stay in Edmonton, but if the Red Wings could somehow get him, it would be a match made in heaven as he fits exactly what Steve Yzerman said for his “core.” Bouchard last season played in 82 games for the Oilers; he recorded 40 points (eight goals and 32 assists), and he was a plus-six with 77 blocked shots and 95 hits. In his short career, he has played in 184 games with 89 points (23 goals and 66 assists); he is a plus-nine with 208 blocked shots and 198 hits.
Brett Pesce
Pesce would be a trade option for the Red Wings; last season, he played 82 games for the Hurricanes and recorded 30 points (five goals and 25 assists); he was a +11, with 110 blocked shots and 37 hits. In his eight-year career, he has played in 557 games and recorded 185 points (36 goals and 149 assists); he is a +82, with 845 blocked shots and 312 hits.
Colton Parayko
Parayko, like Pesce, would be a trade option, and he was rumored to be of interest to the Red Wings last season at the trade deadline, and Yzerman has a history of trading with the Blues GM Doug Armstrong. Parayko played in 79 games last season and tallied 27 points (four goals and 23 assists), was a -19, and had 144 blocked shots and 115 hits. In his career, he has played in 577 games with 233 points (51 goals and 182 assists), has 167 PIM, and is a +51, with 1020 blocked shots and 738 hits.
Goaltending Options
Semyon Varlamov
Varlamov would be a nice option to add to the Red Wings to back up Husso and hold the spot for two years while Sebastian Cossa gets time in the AHL. Varlamov is an experienced veteran with 15 years of experience; he has played in 583 games and is 272-220-64 with a .916 save percentage, a 2.65 goals-against Average, and 38 shutouts. Last season for the Islanders, he played in 23 games, going 11-9-2 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.70 goals-against average.
Martin Jones
Jones is an experienced backup; although he doesn’t have the same length of experience as Varlamov, he has been in the league for ten seasons. He has played in 444 games in his career, going 225-163-35 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average. Last season he played for the Kraken and, in 48 games, went 27-13-3 with a .886 save percentage, the lowest in his career, and a 2.99 goals-against average.
Joonas Korpisalo
Korpisalo got traded from Columbus to Los Angeles last season at the trade deadline, and he combined to appear in 39 games posting an 18-14-4 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average. In his career, he has played in 221 games with a 94-81-25 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 3.01 goals-against average. Korpisalo may return to the Kings, but the Red Wings should at least do some due diligence to see if he could be their backup to Husso.
Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck is a trade candidate and would require a haul, but he would come here and essentially take the starting job for the Red Wings, or you may have to include Husso to acquire him. Hellebuyck is a Vezina winner, which he won in 2019-20 and finished in the top three on three different occasions: 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2022-23. In his career, he has played in 445 games posting a 238-154-37 record with a .916 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average. Last season, he was 37-25-2 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals-against average.
John Gibson
Gibson is mentioned as a trade candidate from the Ducks as he is entering his 11th season. In his career, Gibson is 180-179-59 in 431 games and has a .912 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average. Gibson was left out to dry last season for a bad Ducks team, so his numbers don’t reflect what kind of goalie he is; he went 14-31-8 with a .899 save percentage and a 3.99 goals-against average.
Carter Hart
Hart is a name that has been thrown around a lot the last few weeks as the Flyers are in full rebuild, so I’d expect him to be traded, maybe not to Detroit, but he is an option. In his career, Hart has played in 201 games, going 84-84-26 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average. Last season Hart played in 55 games posting a 22-23-10 record with a .907 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average.
Scoring Options
Alex Killorn
Killorn could be a nice piece for the Red Wings, and he has ties to Derek LaLonde, as he was Killorn’s assistant coach for two Stanley Cups. With his age, he doesn’t fit in the idea of Yzerman’s “core,” but Killorn has talent and can score; in 805 career games, he has 466 points (198 goals and 268 assists), and last season, he played in all 82 of the Lightning’s games and put up 64 points (27 goals and 27 assists).
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Kuznetsov and the Capitals may be looking to move on from each other, and he would be a nice piece for the Red Wings; he is up there in age, as he is 31 years old. In his ten-year career, he has played in 680 games, has 551 points (165 goals and 386 assists), and is a +49. Last season, he played 81 games for the Capitals and recorded 55 points (12 goals and 43 assists). He also can win at the faceoff dot with 508 last season and 3,721 career faceoff wins.
Travis Konecny
Konecny fits exactly what the Red Wings are trying to build as he is 26 and is coming off his best season in the league; he only played in 60 games, but he recorded 61 points (31 goals and 30 assists), so he is getting better and could help out the Red Wings. He has played in 488 games and has 332 points (141 goals and 191 assists).
Alex DeBrincat
DeBrincat has been the most rumored to play to the Red Wings, but it seems they may have moved off him with the chance he may stay in Ottawa, and they could sign him next offseason when he is an unrestricted free agent. DeBrincat is a two-time 40 goal scored and, in his career, has 373 points (187 goals and 186 assists) in 450 games. Last season he played in all 82 games for the Senators putting up 66 points (27 goals and 39 assists).
William Nylander
Nylander is rumored to be the player that the teams interested in DeBrincat have pivoted to, and he is still young as he is entering his age 27 season. He has played all eight years of his career with the Maple Leafs and has played in 521 games putting up 430 points (177 goals and 253 assists), and is a +23. Last season for the Maple Leafs, he played in all 82 games putting up 87 points (40 goals and 47 assists) and was a +10. He also can help on the Power-Play as he has 134 career power-play points (51 goals and 83 assists).
Key Points:
- The Red Wings wrapped up the 2023 NHL Draft yesterday.
- Tomorrow the Free Agency window opens.
- Steve Yzerman mentioned needing a Right-handed defenseman, a goalie, and scoring.
Bottom Line for the Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings currently have the second most cap space in the league, and over the last few days, we’ve seen teams around the league trade players to open up cap room on their roster. The Free Agent class doesn’t have much in scoring, so the Red Wings may have to go after that via trade and sign the goalie and defenseman from free agency.
Steve Yzerman mentioned after the draft that the Red Wings are still rebuilding, so it will be interesting to see what he does during free agency. If they can fill the holes they talked about, and with other teams around the league making moves, the Red Wings could be right back in the thick of things this season.
