Detroit Red Wings Offseason Dilemma

Fresh off of signing center Henrik Zetterberg to a franchise record 12 year contract extension, the Detroit Red Wings face a number of impending roster decisions as they attempt to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. As the team gears up for the playoff push, General Manager Ken Holland must continue to evaluate his roster and begin to address the inevitable question of which players he can keep and which he must lose this offseason. While impending free agents Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen have been the subject of nearly every question about the upcoming offseason, there are several other players the Red Wings must factor into their approach. Holland's first great move of 2009 came with the signing of Zetterberg, as by adding two additional years, Zetterberg's cap number dropped to $6 million per season. This is a bargain for a player of his abilities, and is also about $2 million less of a cap hit than most anticipated. The contract also gives the Wings additional flexibility, possibly enabling them to sign either Hossa or Franzen before they hit the free-agent market. With the uncertainty of the cap for next season, however, Detroit might not be able to commit to either of these high-profile players until the summer.

In particular, Marian Hossa, who signed a one-year deal to play in Detroit last offseason, may benefit from hitting the open market. Hossa cited his desire to win a Stanley Cup as his principal reason for taking less money to play in Detroit, but if he wins a championship with the Red Wings this season, will he have satisfied his primary desire to play in Motown? The winger, who turned 30 last month, has enjoyed tremendous success in his first season with the Wings, as he has a team-high 33 goals and is second on the team with 60 points. His strong two-way play has been a perfect fit in Mike Babcock's system, as Hossa's plus-18 rating indicates. Hossa is unlikely to sign another one-year deal, so to stay in Detroit with a long-term contract he would most likely have to accept millions less than he would be offered by other teams. If the salary cap remains the same next season, at approximately $57 million, the Wings will have just under $10 million to spend on free agents. If Hossa settles for similar money to Zetterberg, around $6 million per season, that leaves the Wings only $4 million to spend. That could pose a major issue, as Detroit would then only have 16 players under contract, seven less than they currently feature on their roster. Thus, signing Hossa, even at a reasonable price for a player of his caliber, could handcuff the Red Wings and deplete them of their trademark depth.

Subsequently, they may want to consider focusing their efforts on signing power forward Johan Franzen. "The Mule", as he's dubbed, was arguably the Wing's best player during their run to the cup a year ago. With his 22 goals this season, he has shown that last year was no fluke. He also is one of the best at playing in front of the net, similar to teammate and fellow Swede Tomas Holmstrom. With Holmstrom nearing the end of his career, Franzen's ability to play this role could be critical to the Wing's offensive success for years to come, especially on the powerplay. Franzen definitely has been a late bloomer in Hockeytown, but his talent appears very legitimate. Many will question signing him to a lengthy contract, though, due to injury concerns, as he has missed time with a bevy of injuries the past two seasons. Will this fear, as well as the lack of a proven track record for scoring, lower Franzen's price tag? If Ken Holland can lock up Franzen long-term for between $3.5 million to $4 million per season, it could prove to be a very shrewd move for years to come.

Electing to resign Franzen could allow the Wings to retain some of their other notable free-agents, forwards Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Kopecky, defenseman Chris Chelios, and Goaltender Ty Conklin. Hudler, who at age 25 will be a restricted free-agent, is having a career season with 19 goals and 47 points. Perhaps most impressive, Hudler, fourth on the team in scoring, has produced these numbers without playing on the top two lines for the majority of the season. The Red Wings faced a similar situation a season ago with restricted free-agent Valtteri Filppula, who ultimately received a five-year contract worth $3 million per season. Hudler may not garner equal money though, due to the economic collapse that certainly will drive down free-agent contracts, as well as the fact that he is not the two-way player that Filppula is. If Detroit can keep Hudler with a cap hit of about $2.5 million, they could potentially keep both Hudler and Franzen for the same combined price as Marian Hossa.

If Ken Holland can accomplish that, he may then elect to turn his sights to goalie Ty Conklin, who has consistently outplayed incumbent starter Chris Osgood thus far this year. Conklin, playing on a one-year $750,000 contract, will unquestionably seek a significant raise after his strong play this season. With Detroit already committed to Chris Osgood for the next two years at $1.4 million, it is unlikely Detroit will be able to offer "Conks" more than what Osgood makes. If Conklin will be content splitting starts on a perennial cup contender, he can likely resign with the Wings. If he wants to cash in though, and be a clear-cut number one netminder, his stay in Detroit will end after one season.

Although perhaps not as critical to Detroit's success as the aforementioned players, Mikael Samuelsson has proven a solid complimentary player for the Wings over the past several seasons. The 32-year-old right wing has chipped in with 16 goals and 20 assists this campaign, slightly above his average pace in his first three years in Detroit. Samuelsson currently earns $1.2 million, and likely will receive a slight pay increase this offseason. Samuelsson is a good fit as a third line player for Detroit, and likewise, Samuelsson probably benefits from playing in a great system with talented teammates in Detroit. Samuelsson staying in Hockeytown would be mutually beneficial to both sides if a reasonable contract can be ironed out, perhaps in the $1.5 million range.

Samuelsson is a type of player that could be replaced, though, if Detroit decides to commit their money elsewhere. The same could be said for Kopecky and Chelios as well, although at age 47 Chelios could elect to retire. While Kopecky, who just turned 27, plays his role as a fourth line checker well, he has only contributed 8 goals in 160 career games.

While it is uncertain which of the aforementioned players Detroit will keep, undoubtedly at least two or three of them will depart. Aware of this situation, several of Detroit's younger players have taken the opportunity to showcase their skills, and to prove if they can be integral a part of the team next season. The player who has impressed the most in his limited stay in Detroit has been forward Ville Leino. Leino impressed in training camp, but was not able to crack the lineup to begin the regular season due to the veterans ahead of him. After being called up recently due to injuries to Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom, Leino has recorded 5 points in 8 games and has garnered time playing on the top line with Pavel Datsyuk. Already a prolific scorer in Europe, Leino's skills are beginning to translate into success at the NHL level. If he continues to produce, he will become an important piece of the Red Wings moving ahead. Leino himself is a restricted free agent, but Ken Holland may need to retain Leino as an offensive contributor if Hossa, Franzen, or Hudler depart.

Leino is not the only young player ready and able to contribute at the NHL level for Detroit, however, as Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Jonathan Ericsson, and Jimmy Howard all appear poised to make the jump as full-time contributors. At this time, it looks like the Red Wings can go one of two routes: resigning a superstar in Marian Hossa and filling out the rest of the lineup with talented but unproven players, or losing Hossa and retaining three or four established players. Whichever direction Ken Holland ultimately decides to go, the Red Wings seemingly have enough options to remain a Stanley Cup contender for years to come.