As I said last week Steve Yzerman and his staff got busy during free agency in the 2020-2021 offseason. I will be breaking down each player, the contract he was signed on, and how I see him fitting in with this roster. This week will only include the new forwards and goalie added to the roster.
It’s All About Bobby In Detroit
To begin this break down I will be starting with Bobby Ryan. Ryan is a former 2nd overall pick in 2005. He joins the Wings after spending the last 7 seasons with the Ottawa Senators. In those 7 seasons, Ryan played in 455 games tallying 296 points. During the 2019-2020 season, Ryan only played in 24 games due to attending alcohol rehab. I believe Ryan will be a strong addition to not only the Wings offense but mainly the Wings power play. The Wings had the 29th overall power-play unit converting on just 14.9% of their power plays. Ryan signed a 1 year deal with Detroit for 1 million. This in my opinion is a great contract for the Wings. They get veteran leadership from a guy who has played meaningful minutes in the NHL and still is producing points in the backend of his career. I predict that Ryan will end being on the Wings first line with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha.
Former 1st Round Draft Pick
The next forward signed to the roster was Vladislav Namestnikov. Namestnikov is a former first-round pick at 27th overall in 2011 by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Namestnikov is a bit of an NHL journeyman. During the 19-20 season, he played with the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, and Colorado Avalanche. During his career, Namestnikov has played in 425 games tallying 189 points. I don’t see this as a huge concern for Wings fans, the upside of Namestnikov is that is in just the last 3 seasons he has played 224 of his games and tallied 110 points. This leads me to believe that Namestnikov is primed and ready for a career year and I think he is just the kind of guy who can fit in the young core the Wings currently have. Another thing I like about this signing is Steve Yzerman was the one who drafted him with Tampa Bay back in 2011, Yzerman knows what he is bringing in. Namestnikov was signed on a 2-year deal worth 2 million per year. Namestnikov was one of only three free agents who got multi-year deals from Yzerman. I predict that Namestnikov will be playing on the second line alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina.
Thomas Greiss To Join Detroit
The last player I will break down in this article is Thomas Greiss. Greiss joins the Wings after playing his last 5 seasons with the New York Islanders. Greiss is a former 3rd round 94th overall pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2004. Greiss has appeared in 282 games in the NHL. He has a solid .915 save percentage and 2.63 goals-against average. Greiss is 34 years old now and goalie partner Jonathan Bernier is 32. Both Greiss and Bernier are coming off of decent 19-20 seasons for themselves. Greiss signed a 2-year deal worth 3.6 million per year, he is only the second of three free agents that got multi-year deals with Detroit. I don’t mind the signing of Greiss as a 1-2 tandem with Bernier, but with all the moves being made by goalies this offseason I would have liked to see Yzerman get more aggressive in an effort to get a little bigger name guy. That being said I do think with Greiss’ numbers he is worth the 3.6 million per year that Yzerman signed him for. I strongly predict that due to Greiss and Bernier being both past 32 years old they will be very split in their starts this season.
Overall the new forwards and goalie bring in a lot of new excitement to the organization. Hopefully, coach Jeff Blashill will be able to bring these guys together and bring the winning culture back to the motor city. As always feel free to tweet any questions or comments @Dchockey97
