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Gave: Wings buy out Weiss, turn to future by re-signing Smith
The Red Wings began the process of distancing themselves from the Mike Babcock era today, cutting loose center Stephen Weiss by buying out the final three years of one of the worst contracts they've ever entered with a player.
Two years ago, against their better judgment but at Babcock's insistence, the Wings signed Weiss to a five-year, $24.5 million free-agent deal, hoping he would fill their needs as a second-line center in the absence of Valtteri Filppula, who signed with Tampa Bay.
Weiss turned out to be a colossal bust, scoring just 11 goals among 29 points in 78 games over two seasons. In the most important games down the stretch this season and in the playoffs, Weiss was more often than not a healthy scratch from Babcock's lineup.
Weiss had three years remaining on his deal worth $16 million. The Wings are still on the hook for about $8.5 million against the salary cap spread over the next five seasons, but it also opens up some cap space as Holland browses the free-agent market for a defenseman.
Holland still faces one more unwanted holdover headache from Babcock's tenure: What to do with Dan Cleary, to whom Babcock made promises about a position with the team this season? Yet again, Holland had some serious misgivings, considering how Cleary's play had tailed off. But at Babcock's urging, Holland signed Cleary to $1.5 million contract last July after he scored just four goals and eight points, with a minus-11 rating, in 52 games and missed the final 2 1/2 months with a knee injury.
As one Wings' official bluntly put it after Babcock bolted for a fat contract to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs: "Mike Babcock is gone, and we're still stuck with Weiss and Cleary."
Now one's gone and the other is unlikely to be a factor in the Detroit lineup under new coach Jeff Blashill. Buying out Weiss is a clear signal that Holland is more committed to the future than the past as he prepares to sign several younger players who will form the nucleus of the team for years to come.
That process started today as well, when the Wings announced the signing of defenseman Brendan Smith, 26, who is expected to experience a new lease on life under Blashill. A fleet and prolific offensive defenseman when the Wings drafted him out of the University of Wisconsin with their first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Smith was shackled by Babcock.
With a gunslinger's mentality, Smith is the kind of defenseman who can create great scoring chances -- at both ends. But as desperate as the Wings were for offense from the blue line, it was often perplexing why Babcock didn't make greater use of Smith's puck-moving skills. Instead, Smith often played tentatively, resulting in mistakes that often put him in the coach's doghouse.
With a new, two-year deal worth $5.5 million, Smith should see an expanded role on the Wings' blue line -- especially if Holland decides to hold his powder and avoid the temptation of signing a defenseman like Washington's UFA Mike Green to long, expensive deal. Smith played for Blashill in 2012-13, helping the Griffins win the Calder Cup.
The Wings look toward training camp with two experienced defense pairings: Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson, and Danny DeKeyser and Kyle Quincey. Since the March trade deadline, Smith was typically paired with Marek Zidlicky, who is expected to sign a free-agent deal elsewhere.
With a plethora of young defenseman in their system, it would make some sense for the Wings to pair Smith with a smart and steady stay-at-home defenseman like Alexey Marchenko -- who has professional experience in Russia's KHL -- and turn Smith loose to do what he does best. Or at least get him more time on the power play.
Meantime, Holland has 18 players under contract with about $15 million remaining under the salary cap -- though a big chunk of that will be spent signing his own restricted free agents, including Landon Ferraro, Tomas Jurco, Gus Nyquist and Teemu Pulkkinen.
Holland's sure to have a few pennies left over to sign a defenseman. Will he spend them? Stay tuned. Open season on free agents starts at midnight on July 1.
