Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is not known for telling the hockey world how he feels. Perhaps he has a trade for a “big fish” in the works as the NHL draft approaches. The Red Wings have the 15th pick in the upcoming draft and are trying to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. Perhaps that is why Yzerman was coy about his team’s defense during his end-of-season interview with the media.
The Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. The defenseman being replaced in the Red Wings’ lineup during the 2023-24 season due to injury by Simon Edvinsson had something to do with Walman being expendable. Walman has had a history of injuries that saw him being acquired by the Red Wings from the St. Louis Blues in March of 2021, along with Oskar Sundqvist and a 2023 second-round draft pick in exchange for Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski.
Walman signed a three-year contract extension with the Red Wings in March of 2023. “This is just the start, so I’m looking to keep going and really prove myself to everybody,” Walman told Max Bultman of The Athletic. Unfortunately for Walman, Yzerman did not see him in the Red Wings’ future. Perhaps the fact that the 28-year-old from Toronto, Ontario, Canada slotted into the second pair in the Red Wings defense overrated his play a bit.
The Griddy member of the Red Wings’ blueline was moved to San Jose even though Justin Holl was signed to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $3.4 million. Holl played in only 38 games for the Red Wings during the 2023-24 season. Given his defensive metrics the Holl contract is all but unmovable. Walman’s contract has the same average annual value but Walman played in almost twice as many games for the Red Wings during the 2023-24 season.
I have written that the Red Wings need to re-sign both Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond during the offseason. These two players will be the cornerstones of the Red Wings moving forward. The defensive corps behind Seider needs to get younger, though. Edvinsson is 21 years old and is looking to get his first extended look in the NHL. Seider said that he looked forward to playing alongside Edvinsson. “That would be pretty cool for the Red Wings,” he said.
Edvinsson shoots left and Seider right, which would make the two a great pair on the Red Wings’ blueline. However, with the departure of the 28-year-old Walman, the rest of the Red Wings’ defense is aging. According to Elite Prospects the best available defenseman in the Red Wings’ system is Shai Buium of San Diego, California. The 6’3”, 220 lb. defenseman was drafted by the Red Wings with the number 36 pick in the second round of the 2021 NHL entry draft. The Red Wings signed Buium to a three-year entry-level contract in April.
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