When can the Red Wings start stealing unrestricted free agents?

The Detroit Red Wings and the rest of the NHL will be on the clock on Tuesday, July 1st at 12 p.m., Eastern Time, when free agency begins and they can start stealing some big names from their 31 peers. Free agency is an annual frenzy in the NHL, and while that may be the case in just about every pro sports league these days, that first hour is unlike anything imaginable. 

Expect at least three figures worth of names to go off the board in those first 60 minutes, meaning general manager Steve Yzerman must act fast if he wants to avoid a do-nothing offseason. But intuition tells me he will be active, as he knows his seat’s growing warmer as the Wings went yet another season without stealing a playoff spot. 

That said, the Wings can keep negotiating with their current unrestricted free agents and take them off the market before July 1st. Notable names include Patrick Kane, Tyler Motte, and Alex Lyon, as all of them could return to and make an impact with the organization. 

July 1st will see a frenzy in that first hour but don’t underestimate the leftovers

You might look at that little subheading above, scoff, and ask me if I’d forgotten already about the Vladimir Tarasenko fiasco. If you remember correctly, Tarasenko didn’t sign with the Wings until July 3rd, 2024, and at the time, he looked like a steal. 

But that doesn’t mean the next big signee in subsequent days of free agency will go the same direction as Tarasenko. Sometimes, a player, especially an older one who can still put up points, gets overlooked before they’re scooped up. 

You may also see player movement via trade, and if Yzerman wants to find ways to get rid of ineffective names like Tarasenko, Justin Holl, or Erik Gustafsson, he may work the phone lines, too, perhaps even before free agency. Should that occur, it’s a sign he’ll be active once the July 1st frenzy begins. 

A short, but fun free agent frenzy leads us into a long offseason

Or, seemingly long, but is the NHL offseason a drag like you see in the NFL? Really, following the frenzy, the league’s only about two and a half months from training camp and the preseason, and a little over three months from the puck drop. 

Yeah, it may seem like a drag, but those summertime cookouts and short nights that this time of the year always brings somehow have a supernatural ability to speed up time. Well, that and the fact you’ll see about a million predictions from myself and others, Predictions that are hopefully optimistic enough to sneak the Red Wings into the playoffs.