The Detroit Red Wings signed defenseman Jake Walman to a three-year contract extension worth an AAV of $3.4 million. Walman has scored five goals and five assists in 40 games played for the Red Wings this season. The 27-year-old was acquired from the St. Louis Blues prior to the trade deadline last year. Walman was made available by the Blues due to the number of knee injuries that he had in his three seasons playing with the team.
“I’ve always said I like to play where I’m wanted and I feel wanted here in Detroit. Not just by the coaches and teammates, but the city of Detroit. It’s been great. I think our fans are UNREAL and I’m really excited to play and put on for this city,” Walman was quoted as saying after the extension was announced. The amount of playing time that Walman has gotten in a defensive corps that is rebuilding is certainly part of the reason that the Toronto, Ontario native feels this way.
Part of the Plan
Walman was one of the players brought in by general manager Steve Yzerman during the 2021-22 season and 2022 offseason in order to make the team more difficult to play against. The former head coach from 2015 to 2022 Jeff Blashill made decisions about the Red Wings lineup and goaltending in particular that were questionable. One goaltender would start games for the team only to be pulled after giving up several goals for the team. This goaltender would then be put back into the net after the backup also struggled.
The signing of Walman stabilizes the left side of the Red Wings’ defensive corps. Yzerman is no longer looking to add players from other teams at the trade deadline, which is on Friday, March third at 3:00 PM ET. This is because the team currently sits just outside of the second wild card spot in the eastern conference with 64 points. Yzerman felt that it was more important for the team to be able to prove that they can get into the playoffs than whatever they would get back in a trade.
Detroit recently had back-to-back games against the Ottawa Senators. These two games did not go well for the Red Wings as they lost both games by a combined score of 12-3. Prior to this two-game stretch, the Red Wings had won five of the last 10 games to get the team back in playoff contention. Beyond the final score, the Senators carried the physical play throughout both of these games. The captain of the Senators Brady Tkachuk scored two goals in the two games against the Red Wings and was an agitator that got the Red Wings off of their game.
A Piece of the Puzzle
Defense for the Red Wings has lacked talent during the team’s rebuild. One of the best defensemen in the history of the franchise Niklas Kronwall retired after the 2018-19 season after playing his entire 15-year career for the team. William Wallinder and Simon Edvinsson rank inside the top 15 of the franchise’s prospects and both hope to join the team on a regular basis starting next season. Edvinsson was called part of Detroit’s “basketball team” by Dylan Larkin prior to the start of the 2022-23 season at 6’4”.
Walman has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL as of late. Being paired with Seider has helped to improve the play of the former Calder Trophy winner. Prior to this, Walman was paired with Ben Chiarot at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Chiarot was signed by the Red Wings to a four-year, $19 million contract in July of 2022. The 31-year-old has seen his play drop from last season when he scored nine goals and added 17 assists for 26 points in 74 games played for the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.
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Whether or not the Red Wings end up making the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in seven years the team is in a better position under new head coach Derek Lalonde. They are playing better than the teams that were coached by Blashill. This is despite two of the more important offensive players in Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana missing the majority of the 2022-23 season. These two may or may not be on the Red Wings roster moving forward.
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