Three Questions for the Red Wings to Answer at the Draft

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The NHL Draft is here, so here are three existential questions for Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings brain trust to answer this weekends.  Without any more wasted words of preamble, let's dive in

Question I: So What Exactly Was the Point of that Walman Trade?

It's been the move of the week so far for Detroit, primarily because of the confusion inherent in sending a defenseman who spent the bulk of the season on the top pair off to San Jose with a pick attached for nothing more than "future considerations."

On some level, the trade has to be an admission of cap mismanagement with respect to the Red Wings blue line.  That isn't necessarily about Walman, and the Red Wings have invested elsewhere on defense via contracts that look more problematic than his, but clearly Yzerman and co did not perceive Walman as part of the solution. That's a valuation that clearly differs from his public perception, especially among Red Wing fans, but the fact remains if you had total faith in your investment on defense, you wouldn't ship out a central figure on the D corps plus a second round pick for nothing (or at least it seems nothing, and perhaps that future considerations will still evolve into something more tangible, though I am skeptical of this).

Compounding this problem is a report from Sean Shapiro in his Shap Shots newsletter, where he wrote, "The other puzzling thing is that Yzerman apparently didn’t shop Walman around a ton. Based off some of my conversations and reading reports from others, there were multiple teams that would have been interested in actually trading something for Walman."  That revelation doesn't exactly suggest 'best GM practices,' though perhaps it also implies an urgency to be rid of Walman that we don't yet understand.

The one consensus coming out of the trade is that there has to be some kind of follow-up move coming to take advantage of the flexibility the Walman deal opened up.  Could this be someone else to play with Moritz Seider on Detroit's top pair, now that his primary partner from the '23-24 season is gone?  Could it be the impact top six forward Yzerman expressed interest in following the spring's playoff near miss?  Could it be a goaltender?  By the end of the weekend, we should have (at least the beginnings of) an answer.

Question II: Will a Goaltending Alternative Arrive before Free Agency?

At his pre-draft press conference, Steve Yzerman fielded a question about the current state of his goaltending room.  First, he suggested that injuries made Ville Husso's 2023-24 a write off, a null set if you will, before praising the way Alex Lyon eclipsed all expectations to become the de facto starter by the playoff push.  Then Yzerman said:

"We'll look at the goalie market, and if something makes sense for us to do that we think improves us. Whether that be via trade or free agency, we're not opposed to doing that. I know we have two, but I do now we need to try to see if we can improve our team, but having said that, I don't anticipate...using prime assets, whatever you would consider those to be, to acquire say an older goaltender that might not be here two, three, four years from now."

It wasn't a denial of interest in trading for a goaltender (or signing one); instead, Yzerman created conditions in which he would pursue such a move in a discourse reminiscent of that around a hypothetical Alex DeBrincat trade at this time last year.

Yzerman had reported interest in Linus Ullmark, before he was traded to Ottawa.  That deal didn't come at an especially high price, but Ullmark did not sign an extension, effectively violating the conditions Yzerman set out for his own goaltending ambitions.  The latest rumblings connect Detroit to either Anaheim's John Gibson or Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry.

It isn't a banner year for unrestricted free agents, and it's never easy to find value in the July 1 marketplace, but this year is an especially weak class of free agent goaltenders.  The top options are players like Matt Murray, Ilya Samsonov, or Chris Dreidger—none of whom appear a credible option for a team with postseason aspirations.

With that in mind, adding a goalie via trade may have prove a bit more of an imperative than adding a D or forward—both of which could be had by trade but are also more readily available as UFAs also.

Question III: Will Detroit Select a Player with Pick 15?

Perhaps the more consequential question is who will Detroit select, but this question is a prerequisite.  At his pre-draft presser, Yzerman suggested that he intends on drafting a player with the selection (rather than trading it) and that the Red Wings have at least approached the point where it is worth considering the existing prospect pool in assessing potential choices:

"That 15th pick, that's still a pretty high pick. It's important that we get a good player. It's important that honestly we get a player that plays for us in the NHL [eventually]. We need that. It's not as simple as we all think or as automatic as we all like to think it is. When you're picking high, you wanna make sure that you get a good prospect, regardless of the position. I think over the course of each draft, you have to really start thinking about...how many prospects you have at each position, because ultimately, when they turn pro, you've got to find a spot for them to play."

Connor Earegood made an excellent case for choosing Michael Brandsegg-Nygård with the pick, via his feature yesterday, and the Norwegian forward should hear his name called somewhere in the vicinity of 15th this evening.

Picking 15th makes it unlikely that the Red Wings will draft a player who can make an immediate NHL impact, but one way to press the accelerator on that could be swinging a trade for Jets prospect and University of Michigan forward Rutger McGroarty.  The '24 USA World Junior captain is rumored to be available in a trade, and, as the 14th pick in the '22 Draft, he could be a way to use the 15th pick to acquire a player much closer to contributing at the NHL level than you could expect to select from that spot.  And, yes, Yzerman did say he didn't expect to move the pick, to which I would respond, "what else would he possibly say on that subject?"

And on that note, here's to an exciting 2024 Draft!  May these three questions be answered by the conclusion.

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