2 outta 3 on Prospect Picks
Back on May 29th I looked at the prospects the Red Wings had to sign by June 1st or they would lose their rights. The team announced the signings of Johan Ryno and Mattias Ritola to three year entry-level contracts.
Ryno was considered a lock as far as being signed. Ritola’s signing was considered much more doubtful due to the fact he’s been very inconsistent as a Red Wings prospect. But given the fact he’s Swedish and Detroit scout Hakan Andersson said he is second in talent only to Nicklas Backstrom as far as Swedes born in 1987 go probably explains why he was signed. They obviously think there’s enough potential there to give him some more time to develop.
I also thought there was a chance the Wings could sign Jeff May but that obviously didn’t happen. My guess is that Detroit feels pretty good about the depth they have on defense and just didn’t see May as having a real shot at developing into a viable prospect.
Ansar Khan from MLIVE reports that it looks like the Red Wings are making progress in their contract talks with Mathieu Schneider. Here is a blurb from his latest blog entry:
The club has made it a priority to re-sign Schneider, who’s coming off two of the best seasons of his career. And Schneider has said several times that Detroit has been the best stop in his career. So it looks like they’ll find a way to get a deal done.
Khan also reports that Danny Markov wants to come back but that the Red Wings might not have enough cap space to sign him. That might indicate that Markov is looking for a pay raise that the Red Wings just don’t think is warranted.
If Schneider and Chris Chelios sign Detroit would have the following defensemen under contract:
Nick Lidstrom - Andreas Lilja
Mathieu Schneider - Nik Kronwall
Brett Lebda - Chris Chelios
Kyle Quincey
Lilja did go +18 when he was paired with Lidstrom in 2005-06 and he performed very well in the playoffs when Detroit lost two of its top 4 defensemen. So if he ends up replacing Markov that would save the Red Wings $1.5 million on the d-man who fills the other half of the top pairing. Perhaps that money will be used to acquire another d-man via free agency, which Khan suggests could happen. The only concern is that Detroit has two solid top four defensemen in Lidstrom and Schneider. Lilja has proven he can do a good job paired with Lidstrom but I’m not sure he’s a true top 4 defenseman. And Kronwall hasn’t been able to play a full season yet.
The team performed much better than should be expected in the playoffs when they were missing Schneider and Kronwall but I’m not sure that’s a situation you want to put yourself in very often. With the cap though it’s tough to field a team that has four rock-solid defensemen.
Once Dominik Hasek decides what he wants to do and if Schneider signs a new deal it will make it easier to determine how much cap space Detroit has available and what needs they might be able to fill at that point. Right now it appears to be all about goaltending and defense, which is what general manager Ken Holland said were his biggest priorities once the season ended.
All Things Red Wings has a good blog entry on why Dominik Hasek is the best bet in net for Detroit. I obviously agree. Jeremiah also has an interesting article on Chris Chelios and his role in the investigation of corruption in the NHL player’s union. This blog has a unique perspective and I am glad to have him on board covering the team. Keep up the good work.
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