RW wrote:
E.L. wrote:
As always, Detroit seems to be buoyed by good young players and handcuffed by expensive vets. Anyway to dump those Nielsen, Abdelkader, Helm deals? How's DeKeyser looking in regards to his deal?
On the plus side, no big RFAs to sign. Vanek and Kronwall can come back on one-year deals.
Vanek is a solid professional so he's good for the kids. Unfortunately, Kronwall is probably done.
I'd love to dump the Abdelkader, Helm and Glendenning deals which were loyalty deals and assumed that each player was a 15 to 20 goal scorer per year. The Red Wings forgot that they had Hall of Fame players feeding them the puck when they had those seasons.
Dekeyser is not playing up to his deal but I think it best to keep him for now as there is no one in the AHL to replace him.
I know I've said it before but we really need some NHL calibre defensemen both on the Red Wings and in the minors. Drafting at 6 we should take the best player available. I really hope it's a top defenseman.
Bowen Byram would be the best choice in that case.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sport ... 422398002/Quote:
he Wings have a good amount of forward prospects. It’s on defense where they are thin, so getting a quality young defenseman would be beneficial. Byram, on most early draft boards, is regarded as the best defenseman in this class. Scouts love his skating and offensive game, and Byram likes to play a physical game, too. The only drawback right now is Byram needs to add some muscle to his frame, but many scouts project Byram as a future No. 1 defenseman in an NHL lineup.
I think Podkolzin could take a Zadina-like tumble in the draft, and if so the Wings should take him, no question, and then see if they can get a good young defender via the draft. But I could see Byram going at #6.