With the 2020 NHL Draft in the books, Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman will now look to the free-agent market to complete his roster for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
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One position Yzerman will be taking a long look at is goaltender, as the Red Wings' GM has already announced that veteran Jimmy Howard will not be back.
There are a plethora of goaltenders who will be available in free agency (Update: many of those goaltenders are no longer available) but that does not mean Yzerman will have the pick of the litter as some of those free agent goaltenders will be looking to go to a contender, rather than a team in the middle of a rebuild as the Red Wings currently are.
So, could Yzerman and the Red Wings have to settle for one of the lower-tier free agent goaltenders?
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If so, one goaltender they may consider is Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils. According to reports, the Devils are expected to buy out Schneider, which would make him a free agent.
The @NJDevils expected to buy out Cory Schneider. Add another goaltender to the already crowded goalie market. We will discuss on @NHLNetwork tonight at 6pm why so many buy-outs with the target date of January 1st @NHL start date.
— Brian Lawton (@brianlawton9) October 8, 2020
Schneider, who is now 34, is a 4-time NHL All-Star, though that has not happened since the 2015-16 season. During the 2019-20 season, he was just 3-6 with a 3.53 goals-against average in 11 starts.
One unnamed contributor at Detroit Sports Nation has referred to Schneider as Jimmy Howard 2.0 and that the Red Wings should steer clear of signing him this offseason.
Nation, what do you think?
BONUS CONTENT:
The best three Detroit Red Wings late-round draft selections
The Detroit Red Wings hold the 4th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, which gets underway tonight. It's been a while since they picked that high in the annual proceedings – in fact, the last time they held the 4th pick, they picked a young Steve Yzerman in 1983.
They're banking on whomever they select to have a major part in their team rebuild as they look to rebound from owning the NHL's worst record, and four straight years out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, they've been able to strike gold late in the annual Draft in years past, finding some of the greatest players in NHL history who would have been surefire 1st round picks had other teams done their homework.
Let's take a look back at the three best late round draft selections made by the Red Wings.
No. 3: Pavel Datsyuk, 171st overall in 1998
You can excuse folks for overlooking Pavel Datsyuk early in his first season with the Detroit Red Wings. After all, he was a rookie on a team stacked with nine future Hall of Fame players. However, fans quickly began to take notice of the flashy Russian's on-ice creativity. He was soon placed on a line with forward Boyd Devereaux and veteran Brett Hull, forming the “Two Kids and a Goat” line that culminated in the 2002 Stanley Cup title.
He is a three-time Selke Award winner as the NHL's top defensive forward and a two-time Cup winner.
To read the remainder of the list, please click on the link below.
The best three Detroit Red Wings late round draft selections
