Red Wings land major free agency opportunity
Photo credit: The Detroit News
With Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman looking to bolster his lineup, a major name just became available on the open market that he could be in prime position to sign.
After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last 9 years, the pressure is mounting on Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman to make the move necessary to end the postseason drought, which is now the longest in team history.
The Red Wings have been linked to numerous free agents, including Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers.
Additionally, another name has been all but guaranteed to hit the open market this summer as it was announced that Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers is expected to enter free agent.
Per NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman, Ehlers (like Marner) will be available to teams starting on July 1.
Hearing he's the same as Marner - he's going to July 1 and then we'll see.
Ehlers has been one of the more consistent forwards in the NHL, and had 63 points (24G, 39A) in 69 games this year, coming within a single point of his previous career-best of 64 points in 2016-17.
His 7 year, $42 million deal that carried an AAV (average annual value) of $6 million comes to a close in the summer.
The Jets earned the President's Trophy this year as the NHL's top team and beat the St. Louis Blues in the WCQF in 7 games before losing to the Dallas Stars in the WCSF in 6 games.
Ehlers had 7 points (5G, 2A) in 8 postseason games, though he missed the 1st 6 games against the Blues after a foot injury late in the regular season.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 15 | 89 ANSWERS Red Wings land major free agency opportunity Should the Red Wings try and sign Nikolaj Ehlers from the Jets? | ||
| Yes | 65 | 73 % |
| No | 24 | 27 % |
| List of polls | ||
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