After rejecting a contract offer today, the Red Wings are considering signing a top experienced veteran defenseman.
Last month was a busy month for buyouts. Cam Atkinson, Adam Boqvist, Jack Campbell, Nate Schmidt, Jeff Skinner, and Ryan Suter were all released, became UFAs, and have subsequently signed contracts for this season.
Few would have been shocked to see Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl on that list. Holl, 32, signed a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Wings in free agency last summer after serving as a reliable top-four option for the Maple Leafs the previous four seasons.
But Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde did not even use him as an NHL regular last season, let alone one with a $3.4 million cap cost. Holl remained mainly healthy, but was out for more over half of the season, limiting him to 38 appearances. In seven games, he had five assists, a +8 rating, and 22 PIMs while averaging 15:05, his lowest since an 11-game tenure with Toronto in 2018-19.
Detroit had plenty of cap room heading into the summer, but most expected general manager Steve Yzerman to make the most of it. Cornerstone RFAs Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider still require new contracts, and the Wings were projected to be one of the more active participants on the UFA market in 2025, propelling them to an end to their eight-year playoff drought.
That didn’t actually happen. Their most notable addition to the squad was two-time Stanley Cup champion winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who is essentially a straight replacement for David Perron, who departed for the Senators in free agency. They were able to keep Patrick Kane on a one-year, $6.5 million contract and exchange James Reimer for Cam Talbot between the pipes on the free market, but they also sent top-pair defender Jake Walman to the Sharks in a cap-dump transaction. As it stands, one might argue that their roster has taken a step back from last year’s team, which missed out on the second wild-card place in the East due to a tiebreaker with the Capitals.
To that reason, some were perplexed when Yzerman chose to attach a second-round pick to get rid of Walman, who had been rather efficient in his role with Seider at even strength for the previous two seasons, rather than increasing cap room by just buying out Holl. But, with two years remaining on Holl’s deal, a buyout would have resulted in a $1.13 million dead cap penalty over the following four seasons. That’s probably not something they wanted to be held accountable for as they get closer to contention, according to Max Bultman of The Athletic.
Still, Lalonde was justified in his restricted use of Holl. Despite receiving more favorable use than he did in Toronto, Holl returned the favor with the worse possession quality numbers of his career, controlling only 42.6% of projected goals. He has been over 50% in each of his four seasons as a regular with the Leafs.
With Walman out of the picture and increased pressure on young players like Simon Edvinsson to play minutes this season, Holl may find himself depended on more as an insurance policy. Bultman “doesn’t get the sense from Yzerman that he thinks Holl is a lost cause,” at least for the moment. After all, he did sign him to a multi-season, eight-figure contract only 12 months ago.
However, if Detroit repeats last year’s success, Bultman believes the team will be more proactive in exploring a buyout of Holl’s final season of contract when the opportunity opens next June. It would still result in a $1.13 million dead cap penalty, according to PuckPedia, but only for the next two seasons. Holl’s contract would be terminated on July 1, 2027, just one year beyond its expiration
Doing so would free up almost $2 million for the Wings to spend in free agency in 2025. They’ll have their whole core locked up for the long term once the Raymond and Seider agreements are completed this summer. There are no genuine key players up for new contracts in 2025, and goalkeeper Ville Husso’s $4.75 million budget charge, as well as $5.34 million in Olli Maatta and Jeff Petry, will be off the books.
