![]() ![]() It’s easier to feel OK-to-good about the Red Wings’ goalie changes after seeing the Maple Leafs’ strange investment in Matt Murray and other shakier bets. It’s a lot closer to throwing down the gauntlet. Spending that money isn’t really “shrug, and see what happens” material. Sure, some of that is “the price of doing business.” But they enter 2022-23 paying that duo a combined $7.75M in salary cap terms. It’s possible that the Red Wings’ consecutive offseason swings at younger goalies ( Alex Nedeljkovic in 2021, now Husso) may both end up being whiffs. His numbers at other levels tailed off a bit in 2018-20. That said, 57 career regular-season games (and seven bumpy playoff contests) only give you so much “data” on Husso. In 2021-22, Ville Husso often looked outstanding. Maybe it would’ve been wiser to go younger, and cheaper, like Dylan Strome or Sonny Milano? Ville Husso investment looks better by comparison to other moves While Chiarot’s contract personally weighs in at “bad” and Perron’s leans toward quite good, Copp trends more toward the middle. It’s fair to wonder how that contract will age, though. Can play a shut-down role, can play a faster rush game, can play special teams, can play any forward position. The 28-year-old can thrive in a number of different roles, and five-year deal ($5.625M cap hit) isn’t explosively risky.Īndrew Copp, signed 5x$5.6M by DET, is a versatile top six forward who can do pretty much whatever is asked of him at a solid enough level. Heading into 2022 NHL Free Agency, Andrew Copp carried the potential to be one of those players whose value inflated too high.Īll things considered, the Red Wings made a respectable free agent investment in Copp. Maybe the Red Wings can make a jump in time? Digestible deal for Copp It’s a bit surprising a more established contender didn’t knock harder on Perron’s door if the price was that reasonable. I just wonder if the Red Wings will be anything more than respectable during his two years under contract. Heck, Perron’s even done some great work in the playoffs.ĭavid Perron (2×4.75m with Detroit) is a very useful all-around player – very helpful on the powerplay, a great finisher, good defensively. He checks boxes both from analytics and simple counting stats standpoints. Wisely, the Red Wings limited the term to two years, and got a nifty bargain at just $4.75M. ![]() That would make a long-term contract really dicey. ![]() With certain moves, the main criticism revolves around wondering if Detroit is “there” yet. If nothing else, other Red Wings free agent signings are easier to defend. Especially for a team that still has an awful lot of work to do in adding useful defensemen beyond Moritz Seider and a select few other possible solutions. U2EyBPg8O8Įven if the truth is somewhere in between the fawning “eye tests” and the dicey analytics, it seems like a dangerous move. Like those teams, the Red Wings are betting big (four years, $4.75 million cap hit) that Ben Chiarot is better than projections indicate.Ĭhiarot is not as bad as models suggest, but this is still way too pricey for a glorified third pair defender. The Blues are banking on Nick Leddy being better than the charts say. The Blue Jackets’ investment in Erik Gudbranson is troubling. His four-year deal with a $2.75M cap hit feels like the type of deal the Oilers should have focused solely on, instead of bigger gambles on Evander Kane and Jack Campbell. ![]() Personally, Brett Kulak resonates as the exception. If you want a theme to go with the normal “that doesn’t seem like a good idea” vibes of most free agent years, it was that bad defensemen contracts often came in at four years. Ben Chiarot part of a set of questionable free agent defensemen signings Let’s run down each move, then round back to the larger question of how far Detroit really traveled. Red Wings splurge on free agents: Chiarot, Copp, Perron (and Husso, basically) You can definitely throw Ville Husso in the mix, too, even though they snatched him up before he could become a UFA. The multi-million dollar question is: how far along are the Red Wings after free agent signings of Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp, and David Perron. Much like their Atlantic Division-mates in Ottawa, the Red Wings are pushing hard to exit their rebuild. It’s early in 2022 NHL Free Agency, but the Detroit Red Wings already rank among the most aggressive spenders in the league. ![]()
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