Detroit Red Wings reportedly set to buyout $9.5M Stanley Cup Champion forward
Photo credit: NHL
A Detroit Red Wings reporter, Max Bultman of The Athletic, has recently revealed that general manager Steve Yzerman could very well surprise many and buy out a $9.5M Stanley Cup Champion forward.
The Detroit Red Wings are buckling up for a busy off-season once again while teams are battling for the Stanley Cup, and Steve Yzerman may be on the hot seat if changes aren't made that will lead them to their first post-season clinch since the 2015 season.
According to Max Bultman, a Detroit Red Wings reporter for The Athletic, a bold move by Yzerman may be underway once the off-season kicks off.
Bultman suggests that Yzerman will be analyzing a number of things, but most importantly who to keep in their bottom-six forward group.
Detroit didn't get enough out of its third and fourth lines this year in many ways. There wasn't enough secondary scoring to take pressure off the top six. They didn't create a significant territorial advantage, getting outshot and out-chanced. And they didn't bring enough supplemental value on the penalty kill, which finished the season as the league's worst.
The reporter states that Yzerman will have to get creative in reshaping the bottom-six forward group due to 'plenty' of them still being under contract, meaning a trade or a potential buyout.
Bultman points fingers at Vladimir Tarasenko, and expects him to be bought out by the Red Wings this off-season, freeing up his $4.75 million salary.
The best course of action may be to simply buy out Tarasenko, who underperformed offensively this year and doesn't bring any penalty kill value. From there, Detroit would have Michael Rasmussen, Mazur (if healthy) and room to either bring in veterans with a clearer bottom-six identity or experiment with prospects. Said Bultman
Tarasenko wouldn't be the lone wolf being bought out, as we also reported near the end of this past regular season that defenseman Justin Holl's contract is expected to be dumped by Detroit.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 29 | 126 ANSWERS Detroit Red Wings reportedly set to buyout $9.5M Stanley Cup Champion forward Do you think Steve Yzerman made a mistake acquiring this forward? | ||
| Yes | 88 | 69.8 % |
| No | 38 | 30.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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