The Detroit Red Wings drafted right-winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygård. MBN is seen as the “safest” pick in the range where the Red Wings drafted in the first round. That is not to say that the 18-year-old from Oslo, Norway is not a good player. At 6’1” and 198 lbs. Brandsegg-Nygård already has the frame to hold up to a 200-foot game. During the 2023-24 season in the HockeyAllsvenskan Brandsegg-Nygård scored eight goals and added 10 assists in 41 games played for Mora IK.
The Red Wings were not able to add the big fish that they were reportedly going after prior to the draft. This is despite the Red Wings being linked to seemingly every free agent name prior to the first round of the NHL draft. The focus of the 2024 offseason now turns to re-signing Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. Yzerman seemed to know that this would be the criticism of the Red Wings’ first round.
“Going into free agency, I’m gonna stick to the plan. We are trying to build a team that’s not just gonna make the playoffs one year and not the next year…Whether it’s with our own free agents or others, we’re going to be selective and try to address certain needs…We won’t be able to sign all of our unrestricted free agents. I can’t even guarantee we’ll sign any of them, but we have interest in signing them, and ultimately it becomes—again it’s gonna come down to term and dollars…I think it’s safe to say, Lucas and Moritz Seider, their contracts are going to go up significantly. And that’s going to take up a major portion of our cap and I have to be aware of that. And I have to plan for that. So that’ll limit what we can do in other areas.”
