Week 2 of breaking down the Detroit Red Wings free agent signings is all about rebuilding Detroit’s backend. You can read Part 1 of my Red Wing Free Agent signing here. Detroit had a huge hole to fill on defense. They had the worst goals against in the NHL during the 2019-2020 campaign. Detroit gave up 265 goals in 71 games, which comes out giving up 3.73 goals a game. That isn’t gonna be good enough for Steve Yzerman. Yzerman seemed to go to the free-agent market to fill the holes.
We start with Jon Merrill
Coming to Detroit after spending the last 3 seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. Merrill was a 2nd round, 38th overall pick back in 2010. He averaged 18 minutes of time on ice last season. He is more of a defensive defenseman in my opinion. This is good for Detroit who definitely struggled in the D-zone last season giving up a goal differential of -122. In Merrill’s three seasons with the Golden Knights, he was averaging 47 games played a season. I think Detroit gives him a much better chance to have a bigger role and an opportunity to prove himself. In 140 games with Vegas Merrill only had 25 points. This is a concerning number to think about for Wings fans, but trust me I think he could potentially have a career year with Detroit this season. Merrill was signed on a 1-year deal worth 925K. As Steve Yzerman has proved in the past he knows how to sign good deals. Yzerman did a great job here in my opinion getting another veteran defenseman to help on the backend with a young d core. I predict that Merrill will be a bottom 4 defenseman playing with either Filip Hronek or Troy Stecher.
Defenseman Marc Staal was also added to the Wings lineup
Staal is a former 12th overall pick of the New York Rangers back in 2005. He has spent his entire 14-year career there until now. In 892 games he has tallied only 188 points, once again not exactly the kind of guy you would think Yzerman might look at to help the struggling offense. Staal is another player who is what I would consider a defensive D-man. As I said earlier Detroit struggled everywhere last season, bringing in a guy like Marc Staal who has been an assistant captain for the Rangers in all of the last 10 seasons, he is the exact kind of leader the Wings locker room needs. Staal was signed under a 1-year deal worth 5.7 million. This contract seems a little steep for my liking. I totally understand Staal’s leadership qualities, but he now in the last couple of years of his NHL career. I would have like to see Yzerman try to get a guy like Staal for more around the 2.5 to 3 million dollar range. I am not 100% convinced that he is worth this deal. That being said I am pretty sure that Staal will be paired up with Danny Dekeyser on the first d-pairing.
Troy Stecher Joins Detroit
Now on to the last free agent to be added by Yzerman and his staff this offseason. Troy Stecher joins the Wings from the Vancouver Canucks. Stecher has been with the Canucks for 4 seasons, in that time he has played 286 games and put up 75 points. Stecher averaged 15:21 time on ice last season with Vancouver. In the last 2 seasons for Stecher, he has been a +/- of +19 in 147 games. This is good news for Detroit, if I have said it once I have said it a million times. Detroit needs help in the d-core. Stecher is still young at 26 years old. Stecher could be a secret weapon for the wings on the backend. I believe he will fit right in with the youth-filled roster the Wings have. Stecher was signed for a 2-year deal worth 1.7 million per year. Stecher is the only defenseman signed by Detroit that got a multi-year deal. This is a great deal for Detroit. They get a young guy who has played a good chunk of games already in the NHL. I believe Yzerman signed Stecher because he sees Stecher filling a bigger role with the Wings than Stecher did for the Canucks.
Now that we are less than a month away from what the NHL is believed to have a January 1st, 2021 start, it is time to prepare ourselves as Wings fans or haters to see what the team that Yzerman has put together is going to accomplish. As always feel free to tweet any questions or comments @Dchockey97
