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Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland reached out and spoke with several NHL unrestricted free agents on Monday.
Freep.com reports that Holland and his bench boss Jeff Blashill chatted up several prospective UFAs with the hopes of recruiting one or more of the them to play in Detroit Rock City next season.
“Talked to lots of players today letting them know we have interest,” Holland told the Free Press. “I'll double back with the agents later in the week and see what the player or agent is thinking.”
The UFA signing period begins on Friday July 1 at Noon.
The UFA discussion period began at midnight on Saturday morning while the NHL Draft was in progress in Buffalo.
Holland is one of a few NHL GMs who are serious about their pursuit of the "big fish", Steven Stamkos.
Holland's former star player and protégé Steve Yzerman allowed Stamkos' no move clause to kick in on July 1, 2015. Since then, the whispers have become screams regarding Stamkos leaving Tampa via free agencyfor another team.
Stamkos will cost Holland $10 to $12 million per season over seven seasons.
I think that Holland's eyes are bigger than his stomach. He would love to sign Stamkos and have the Sarnia Sniper replace Pavel Datsyuk in the Detroit lineup. Stamkos is going to be too rich for Detroit's blood.
Holland has champagne taste on a draft beer budget.
He desperately wants to add goal scoring and special teams excellence. Stamkos is the epitome of goal scoring and offense.
What's ambitious is that Holland needs to replace a legend in Pavel Datsyuk while not missing a beat while the team transitions to it's new building in the fall.
I can see a day in the near future where Holland loses out in his pursuit of Stamkos and settles for a more realistic UFA target in one of Kyle Okposo, Milan Lucic, Loui Eriksson Andrew Ladd, David Backes and Troy Brouwer.
“We're going to sign some players,” Holland said. “We're looking at higher profile ones, but also looking to see if somebody lesser can have impact. That's part of the cap - they can't all be about big money.”
Holland will enter the July 1 UFA day with $19 million on salary cap space.
On Monday, Holland handed qualifying offers to his restricted free agents Petr Mrazek, Danny DeKeyser, Alexey Marchenko, and Teemu Pulkkinen.
Holland also has UFA to re-sign in Darren Helm, Brad Richards, and Kyle Quincey.
Holland's $19 million will stretch only so far.
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Like Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray, Holland has interest in trading for Anaheim Ducks left D Cam Fowler. Holland is also said to be curious about St. Louis D Kevin Shattenkirk and Wiinnipeg Jets D Jacob Trouba.
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The Buffalo Sabres have announced the team has tendered a qualifying offer to the following restricted free agents:
Forwards Daniel Catenacci, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons
Defensemen Jake McCabe, Casey Nelson, Rasmus Ristolainen
Goaltender Jason Kasdorf
More to come...
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Over the weekend, I was asked by friends if I could handicap the Steven Stamkos soiree.
I spoke with several in the know sources about Stamkos while I attended the NHL Draft in Buffalo over the weekend.
My top two landing spots for Stamkos are Buffalo and Detroit.
The Red Wings became an instant contender for Stamkos the moment Ken Holland shipped Pavel Datsyuk's $7.5 million contract to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night during the first round of the NHL draft.
The debridement of Datsyuk's decadent dollars casts Detroit in much different light in terms of salary cap space.
Today, the Wings sit at $19 million in available salary cap room for the 2016-17 season. On it's surface, Detroit's cap situation positions the Wings favorably to compete and possible win the Stamkos Super Signing bonanza. Sure, Holland can sign Stamkos and walk away from it with a feeling of accomplishment in the short term, however, the, the long term effects on his team's chances of competing for an NHL record 26th straight Stanley Cup Playoffs berth next spring will be miniscule.
Here's why:
Holland still has many pieces of unfinished business to do with players who already wear the Wingged Wheel sweater. If Holland wants to sign Stamkos badly enough to a long term contract, he is going to have to say goodbye to a few of his core players in order to make it work.
Unrestricted free agent forwards Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Brad Richards, and Kyle Quincey will not be able to be retained by the Wings should Holland sign Stamkos to a $12 million AVV per season contract over the next seven seasons.
Richards earned a $3 million salary last season. Helm was paid $2.12 million. Miller got $1.35 million. Quincey earned $2 million.
All four players added value to the Wings in different ways and would be sorely missed were they allowed to leave Detroit via unrestricted free agency on July 1. Richards, even at his advanced age, can still play a top nine role and give you 15-20 goals per season. Helm has speed and skill that can kill. I spoke with a lot of NHL scouts and GMs at the draft who are trying to copy cat the Pittsburgh Penguins by infusing speed into their lineups. Miller is one of the most under rated and most effective penalty killers in the NHL and has been for years.
Signing Stamkos would certainly send all three veteran player packing for whiter ice elsewhere.
The Red Wings' RFAs are an interesting lot as well.
Dekeyser earned $2.1875 million cap hit last season will be looking for a bump in pay to put him more in line with other top four D in the NHL. Dekeyser will be seeking a deal in the $4.5 million AAV range. Holland has to pay Dekeyser because at this time, he is his best defenseman. Marchenko shows a ton of promise. His entry level contract just ended and Holland can write him a new deal at a 10-15% bump in pay on a two year bridge deal. Mrazek is a must-sign player right now. He's the best goalie on their roster and he is young, which translates to cheap. Teemu Pulkkinen, the 24 year old skilled forward, has tremendous value around the NHL. Same for Tomas Tatar ($2.75M), who will be RFA next summer. Pulkkinen has high end skill and can finish. Holland will have to open up the wallet to retain the winger.
The 9,000 gorilla now in Detroits's room is 35 year old Hank Zetterberg, he of the $6,083,333 contract for the next FIVE seasons. Zetterberg, a future Hall Of Famer, now picks up the mantle from Datsyuk of havng the least team-friendly salary cap hit in Detroit. Zetterberg turns 36 in October and his production is on the decline.
How about Johan Franzen's $3,954,545 cap hit for the next four seasons?
Gustav Nuqvist is a value contract at $4.75 for the next three seasons. Ditto Justin Abdelkader at $4.25 million for the next five seasons.
Assuming the Wings were to sign Stamkos, which D-men are going to protect the fort in the Detroit end of the rink? Giving Stammer $12M per season will further expose Detroit's deteriorating blue line.
Nik Kronwall is 35 and is showing signs of losing steam. However, Kronwall is still owed three seasons at $4.75 million per season. Mike Green has been a defensive nightmare for his entire career and he still has 2 years and $12 million remaining on his Detroit deal. Jonathon Ericsson is a $4.25 million cap hit for the next four seasons. Brendan Smith will earn $2.75 million this season before he becomes UFA next summer.
Oh, by the way, who will be the starting goalie come training camp?
My guess is that it will be Mrazek, who will be re-signed at a modest pay raise.
A source told me at the draft that Holland has been searching for a trade partner for Jimmy Howard, however, he has been having a tough time finding a new home for his starting goalie's $5.3 million AAV for the next three seasons.
If I'm Steven Stamkos, and I'm being fair and objective, why would I want to roll the bones and sign in Detroit?
On Saturday, Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray spoke candidly about his pursuit of Stamkos. Murray made salient points about the chase for the "big fish" Stamkos.
His most bang on point was that if you really want to sign Stamkos, you'll have to subtract a popular player(s) from your current roster. Nothing persona. Just the cost of doing business.
Murray's Sabres squad is constructed with several players on entry level contracts and a few who are making the big bucks right now. Buffalo right now has $22-ish million in available salary cap space to sign Stamkos to an $11 or $12 million per season salary. Doing so would be easier for Tim Murray than it would be for Ken Holland.
“Somebody else on your roster has to either pay the price or you have to walk away from other really good free agents because you have to allocate your money and if you draft well, that negated having to find those $4 million guys that don’t allow you pay $12 million. We’ve got a few guys now that are good entry level players that makes it attractive to go out and get a free agent that makes some money", Murray said Saturday.
The cautionary tale in the Seduction Of Stamkos is that salary cap space only gets you into the game. It by no means is going to be the determining factor in who ultimately wins the big fishing derby.
Salary cap space + $84 million + current roster + organizational depth + Winner of Stamkos Derby.
Murray has been stocking his NHL and AHL roster for the past two seasons. He says that Stamkos doesn't just want to be the highest paid player on your roster. The Sarnia Sting sniper wants every assurance that the team that he signs with is going to be competitive the day that he signs and they it will be stacked and strong for years to come.
Dan Bylsma and Murray can say with confidence that the Sabres are loaded and ready for bear right now with Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, Samson Reinhart, Jimmy Vesey (wink), Alex Nylander, Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Matt Moulson, Marcus Foligno, Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Jake McCabe, Dmitry Kulikov, Robin Lehner and many more top prospects and role players to mention.
Can Detroit boast of the same riches, opulence and organizational wealth as Buffalo?
Playing with Dylan Larkin for seven seasons seems intoxicating, however, who will the support cast be in Detroit?
“You’ve got to show them your blueprint, he’s (Stamkos) certainly going to look at your roster and I think there’s going to be a lot of equals as far as money, but not geography. But the one thing that can put a team over the top is teammates, who he gets to play with, so we’re confident that we have good players that other good players would want to play with.”
Murray remains confident and undaunted by the financial implications of signing Stamkos. Murray and the Pegulas see such a lucrative signing as an investment in not only their Buffalo Sabres franchise but in the Western New York Community. High tide floats all ships, right? Buffalo is talking proud right now. If they sign Stamkos on July 1 the region of WNY will be positioned as a Stanley Cup contending team. Like the phoenix, Buffalo is risen from the flams.
Hollland on the other hand would look at signing Stamkos more as an expenditure as an investment in his region. Holland has to fill seats in his new barn next season. Sign Stamkos, put fannies in the seats, right?
Not so fast.
Signing Stamkos would mean that the Wings would have to say goodbye to soldiers that have fought hard and won for the Wings over the years. It's hard to replace honest workers.
Stamkos might want to think to himself:
Do I want to be the highest paid player on a 12th or 13th place team for the next 7 seasons in Detroit? Or, do I want to join an impressive nucleus in Buffalo that I will be able to plug into and add immediate value to a team that can compete for the Eastern Conference Finas and Stanley Cup for the next seven seasons?
Tim Murray said Saturday:
“The next conversation I have with them is to ask if he’d have an interest in Buffalo.
“I have to ask that question and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t. I assume that the teams that have cap space will all be involved in this, so it’s going to be a stiff competition for sure.”
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