After the first few days of free agency frenzy in the NHL, the vast majority of the marquee names are off the board. The league is still waiting for some of the more high profile names like Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux to finish mulling their decisions, however.

Red Wings fans should perhaps then take no news as good news, since Kane, 37, may still be considering returning to Hockeytown. That will certainly depend on how much more Steve Yzerman is able to build the roster in the coming days.

To that point, there still has been no news on Simon Edvinsson’s contract extension, even as around the league, players around his contract status are beginning to see offer sheets that pay them more than the NHL has ever seen before by a wide margin.

One name that will certainly effect Edvinsson’s status is the Anaheim Ducks Pavel Mintyukov.

The Ducks blueliner signed a five year contract with GM Pat Verbeek yesterday, though financial numbers have not yet been officially disclosed. Anaheim has several RFA’s to keep happy, and is currently weighing whether or not to match an offer sheet made to their stud center Leo Carlsson by the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s a spending tier a little too rich for Detroit’s blood as Kevin Allen explained in yesterday’s Daily.

The former Wings assistant GM, Verbeek, seems to have taken a bit after his mentor Yzerman when it comes to the negotiating school and has earned a reputation for twisting the screws on players and agents when it comes to finalizing the details on contracts.

Red Wings Extra

The Red Wings goaltending prospect pipeline is one of the best in the league these days, but that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t so long ago that the best goalie to come out of the system was Jimmy Howard, who backstopped the Red Wings full time from the 2008-09 season until his retirement in January of 2021.

Howard and his pad design were what inspired current Moncton Wildcats netminder and Red Wings prospect Rudy Guimond to get into goaltending in the first place. The two met earlier this week, with this making the rounds over the Fourth of July weekend:

In Case You Missed It

The Shanghai Dragons added another former Red Wing to their ranks- this time to their coaching staff.

Keegan Kolesar may be just the forward to change the Red Wings underlying identity.

Around Hockey Now

Pittsburgh Hockey Now- The Penguins re-signed two of their most important free agents to keep the team together after their last playoff run.

Colorado Hockey Now- The Avalanche have been making depth moves this offseason, signing a veteran defender to keep the Colorado Eagles and prospect netminder Ilya Nabokov well protected.

Florida Hockey Now- Radko Gudas is signed in Florida long term, and the feisty veteran hasn’t let age slow him down.

Boston Hockey Now- The Boston Bruins will be able to keep a close eye on prospect Cole Chandler as he moves within city limits to play college hockey.