There has been considerable debate about the Detroit Red Wings giving an offer sheet to Elias Pettersson. They don’t happen often and when they do, does it draw a lot of attention.
Yesterday this happened:
The kicker–they offered a $20 signing bonus–which happens to be Sebastian Aho’s number. This is of course a shot at Montreal giving Aho an offer sheet two years ago.
Ya gotta love it.
So could the Red Wings actually offer sheet Pettersson?
So now, it begs the question: With all the cap space Detroit has, would they consider doing something similar to make a run at Pettersson?
I enjoyed asking questions to the Grind Line Podcast and one centered around this. The three gents were not willing to give up four first rounds should it hit the magical $10.26M threshold that would do so. Each answer revolved around a hybrid of that–willing to give up even two first round picks along with a second and a third. The other that both Greg and Tyler specifically said was that if anyone was going to do it, it’d be Steve Yzerman. Ryan (not the other Red Wings Ryan as erroneously tagged on Twitter by yours truly) points out that getting a deal done with Pettersson becomes even tougher if they pay Quinn Hughes what he’s worth.
I’m wary to give up the picks but Pettersson is a premier talent that would be like finally getting a top two pick. He’s just 22 years old, and could center the top line while Larkin shifts down one. Vancouver would seemingly match whatever the Wings offer, but my goodness, would it be fun to watch them navigate through that mess.
I also think if the price is lower, it’s a move you absolutely make. The draft is loaded, yes, but drafting a caliber of player like Pettersson seems less likely as Detroit seems prime to be a step better again this season. They will be in the Atlantic this season which will be a massive upgrade to the weaker Central Division they played in.
Imagine if Yzerman does go that route. Though the Red Wings Twitter feed would never roast Vancouver as Carolina did to Montreal, it would be another way to keep hockey more interesting in August.
Athletic article quantifies Red Wings faith in Yzerman
Red Wings fans obviously love Steve Yzerman–perhaps one of the most obvious statements that can be written. According to the Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and his recent returns on his front office confidence piece, the Red Wings have the third highest confidence level from their fanbase. First and second were Tampa Bay and Colorado respectively, both teams in the upper echelon of the league. The confidence is obviously not only in Yzerman, but in the moves he’s made that worked well.
Imagine if things hit. To watch Yzerman ditch bad contracts, and stay laser focused on his goal of being patient and building his way, he has overwhelming patience and good will–especially after the team he built in Tampa is coming off its second consecutive Stanley Cup Championship.
Not all were convinced however that Yzerman and his front office are deserving of that third spot:
If you didn’t see many of the reaction, a lot of Wings fans took umbrage. For starters, I’m a huge fan of JFresh’s work and am really appreciative of what he does. I also don’t think he said anything wrong here–though that last sentence certainly could be interpreted as snarky by some. From how I read it, it felt like he was commenting on how mystifying it is that a team that was historically bad just two seasons ago is in the top three of front office rankings while the other four are contenders for the Cup.
If it weren’t Yzerman running the show, patience wouldn’t be anywhere near the level it is. Nor would the ranking. Factor in his success with Tampa and that continues to keep Yzerman’s confidence score high with Red Wings fans. There’s about three decades of goodwill with the fanbase.
Much like Jeff Blashill, there will be a point where Yzerman will be judged for what the Red Wings turn into and the fan adulation–especially if it sputters or doesn’t win the Cup–will wane. But so far nothing can be ascertained after the past two seasons because there really isn’t anything to judge him by talent wise. That will come starting this year.
The roster bottomed out in season one. Last year, he added some talent and the team saw marginal improvement. This offseason, he added better players and seems to be moving things off of the rebuild only track and onto one that begins to nudge itself forward.
But speaking of Blashill…
The Hockey Writers’ Devin Little wrote about how this season would be a great indicator of whether or not Blashill is truly the right coach as the team ascends. Calling it his “prove it year”, it’s absolutely precise. Yzerman took a swing on some players that should move the needle and now it’s on Blashill to cultivate that talent and move the organization forward on the ice. Yzerman will have gobs of money to work with next season and it certainly feels like it will be the first summer where he really takes that giant step forward away from a rebuild-only mindset.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll kick it off with an offer sheet to Pettersson after all. Regardless, there’s a lot of intrigue as August melts away and the training camp sits just weeks away.