As Detroit seeks to bolster its roster with skill, the Red Wings are anticipated to be among the more active teams in free agency.
Detroit is trying to break the Red Wings’ nine-year streak of missing the playoffs. All areas of Detroit’s squad could be improved, but increasing offensive production is crucial.
The Red Wings are associated with the Chicago Blackhawks’ Ryan Donato, according to NHL analyst Todd Matthews of OctopusThrower of FanSided.
“I’ll be shocked if the Blackhawks don’t sign Ryan Donato again,” Matthews wrote. However, the Red Wings must at least make a serious push if they allow him to test the market. Donato is unlikely to be as productive as he was last season, scoring 31 goals and 62 points, but he would give
However, he would provide the Wings with a legitimate third-line scoring threat.
Donato had a fantastic year to support his free agency after completing his two-year, $4 million contract. Donato had a career-high of 31 goals and 31 assists for 62 points in 80 games with the Blackhawks last season.
He scored twice as many points as he did in his previous career best, so it’s unclear if he can continue. Donato would, however, be a middle-six forward for the Red Wings and provide some much-needed depth scoring if he could.
In free agency, what is Donato anticipated to receive?
Donato isn’t anticipated to get a big contract in free agency, even if he had a great year.
Frank Seravalli, an insider with DailyFaceoff, ranked Donato as the 21st-best free agent. The source predicts Donato will sign a three-year contract for $4.2 million per season using AFP Projections.
Even though it is more than double what he earned the previous season, $4.2 million a season is a reasonable price. However, Donato will be among the players who receive extra money this offseason due to the increase in the salary cap.
Donato joined Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard in Chicago’s starting lineup. Additionally, he was on the second power-play unit. But on a legitimate Stanley Cup candidate, Doanto can contribute to the power play and is more of a second or third-line winger.
Red Wings general manager is open to playing throughout the offseason.
The Red Wings are trying to be proactive because Detroit hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in nine years.
According to Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, the team is open to signing big names and well-known free players. He adds that Yzerman thinks Detroit is prepared to compete and that they are trying to improve their youthful core.
We’ve had the impression that we’ll consider any talented player from the beginning. Any player that can assist us in any capacity. We would definitely try to sign a player that is worthy of spending any amount of money, is interested in playing in Detroit, and meets our needs, Yzerman stated. We have a strong youthful core of players, so we’re in a different stage than we were perhaps five years ago. And we would definitely consider adding a well-known free agent to that.
Detroit has just over $21.3 million in cap space going into the offseason.
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