The Athletic interviewed some (anonymous) exec's around the league about each teams offseason so far:
Execs Unfiltered: Thoughts on Hall, trades and every NHL team’s offseason so far
Here what they had to say about Detroit:
Detroit Red Wings
The work turned in by GM Steve Yzerman and his staff was praised across the board.
“I like Detroit’s signings but they’re not going to amount to Detroit winning the Stanley Cup,” said one. “I think those guys are good value for those price tags.”
Yzerman spent some time in the bargain bin and turned up very reasonable deals for Bobby Ryan, Vladislav Namestnikov and Troy Stecher. He paid a bit of a premium in a competitive goalie market for Thomas Greiss (two years at $3.6 million per) but the Red Wings should be much more competitive because of it.
“To be honest, the Red Wings have done a good job,” said another executive. “They’ll be somewhat competitive. They brought in character and leadership. Stevie Y does a great job.”
“Detroit had a good offseason,” said a Western Conference exec. “Namestnikov for $2 million. Bobby Ryan for $1 million. It fits exactly what they’re doing. They’re not going long term with anybody. They’ve got some good, cheap players who will improve their team right away. They’ve got a couple more D. They got more assets for the deadline. They’re movable contracts.”
Multiple execs brought up the character element. All the players signed seem to be oozing in character.
“Stevie is very deliberate who he puts around his team,” said one. “If a player is not a culture guy or does not serve a specific purpose, they get shipped out pretty quick. I like Namestnikov. Bobby Ryan is fine. I like Stecher. I like Greiss. Those guys are pretty good.”