Red Wings GM Steve  Yzerman has been a juggler as much as he’s been a general manager this offseason. He kept many balls in the air while working his way through multiple offseason moves.

With Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond ready for long-term contracts, Yzerman had little salary cap space to work with in the free agent marketplace. That didn’t stop him from making a couple of moves that caught many by surprise, particularly the signing of Vladimir Tarasenko.

Here is Detroit Hockey Now’s grades for Yzerman’s offseason work:

Traded prospect Andrew Gibson to Preds for a second round pick and a prospect

Grade: C+

Not everyone in Detroit loved this move because Gibson has potential to be an all-purpose defenseman. He can be a two-way guy and boasts size (6-foot-3) and an edge.

This deal was all about acquiring the second round pick. The Red Wings needed that second-round pick to clear cap space for another move. The Red Wings liked Gibson, but Yzerman has said in the past that you accumulate draft picks to stock your team and also to use as assets to make trades to improve your team. That’s what Yzerman was doing here.

Could Yzerman have moved another player to obtain the second round pick? It’s impossible to know. Maybe it was Gibson or no deal

He also picked up  Finnish two-way forward Jesse Kiiskinen, who the Red Wings like. They have more desirable defensemen than forwards on their prospect list. But this deal displeased some fans who watched Gibson play for the Soo Greyhounds this season. Gibson has the potential to be  a very effective defenseman

Trading Jake Walman/Re-Signing Patrick Kane

Grade:  A-

This feels more like landing a new player than re-signing an old one because many believed Kane would leave for a higher salary or more term that Yzerman could offer.

Yzerman didn’t really have the salary cap room to to support re-signing Kane. Projections had Kane able to get offers in the $5 to $6 million range. It seemed as if teams might give him term as well.

Give Yzerman credit being creative enough to keep Kane in a Detroit jersey. First, he traded Walman and his $3.4 million salary to the San Jose Sharks. Walman fell out of favor in Detroit last season, but the reason they traded him was to clear up the cap space.  The price for doing that was giving the Sharks a second-round pick. It was the pick they got for Gibson.

The second-round pick was going rate to move that much salary. The St. Louis Blues a second-round in 2025 to take center Kevin Hayes and his $3.4 million.

Yzerman had more work to do to land Kane. He used the over-35 bonus option to give himself more buying power. He offered Kane a $4 million base salary, plus $2.5 in bonus opportunities. Some of those bonuses are easily makeable, like $1.5 million for playing 10 games. Those bonuses will be paid out of next season’s camp.

Kane contract has bonuses. Per sources:
$4M base
$1.5M at 10 games
$250k at 60 games
$500k if they make playoffs
$250k for 60 points AND playoffs.

Total is $6.5M https://t.co/VnOZ7wdCiQ

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024

Retained Fischer and Motta, Said ‘Goodbye’ to David Perron

Grade: B

This did not come down an either or situation. But the money for Fischer and Motta together ($1.925 million) is almost exactly what the Senators paid to persuade Perron ($2 million) to go to Ottawa.

The Red Wings wanted to keep Perron — mostly because of his leadership — but didn’t have the cap space to sign them all. That went with two players who can each contribute 100-plus hits.  They will miss David Perron’s 15-18 goals, but Fischer has more scoring potential than he showed last season.

Trade Robby Fabbri to Anaheim/Land Vladimir Tarasenko as UFA

Grade:  A

If you ask this question around the NHL: Would you rather have Fabbri, Perron or Tarasenko?  The answer would be Tarasenko every time.

This was another case of Yzerman making a trade to sign a free agent. He moved Fabbri’s $4 million salary cap  (and a conditional fourth-round prick) and then used that money to give Tarasenko a two-year deal at $4.75 million per season.

With the addition of Tarasenko and retaining Kane, the Red Wings now have five forwards among their top six who are proven 30-goal scorers.

Tarasenko is the kind of scorer who can freshen up Detroit’s offense

Losing Shayne Gostisbehere/Daniel Sprong

Grade: C+

The Red Wings made a reasonable effort to land Gostisbehere because he was so valauble on the power play, but he wanted a three-year deal. The Red Wings didn’t want to go that long.

Sprong hasn’t signed anywhere yet. He’s on this list as a reminder that Yzerman wasn’t able to replace all of the goals he lost to free agency. He’s going to need returning players to improve their output. Jonathan Berggren,  for example, might be able to replace Sprong’s 18 goals.

Signed Erik Gustafsson as UFA

Grade: B

After losing Shayne Gostisbehere, the Red Wings need someone to help the power play as the No. 2 point man. The 32-year-old Swedish player posted 31 points for the New York Rangers last season.

That’s not close to Gostisbehere’s 56. However, Gustafsson put up 60 points for the Chicago Blackhawks one season.

Yzerman Overall Mark

Grade: B

He hit home runs with Kane and Tarasenko and he needed to move players to get that done. He may have left himself a short on goals.