The NHL’s Free Agency period began on July 1, kicking off the home stretch of the offseason as teams scramble to plug the roster holes they’ve found over the course of the last year.

It seems after nearly a week of negotiations: No wants anything to do with a former Red Wings sweater.

Of the six former Red Wings to have played at the NHL level for the club last season, only one has signed a contract with a team as of this writing, and it’s Erik Gustafsson.

The list of names that remain unsigned includes forwards Patrick Kane, James van Riesmdyk, and David Perron alongside defenseman Travis Hamonic and goaltender Cam Talbot. For the Red Wings UFA class, it seems to be a case of trying to read if the winds will be able to carry them where they want to go.

Tumbleweeds

Highlighting the top of the list, of course, is Kane. The mercurial winger is in his age 37 season, and came to Detroit after what could have been a career-ending hip resurfacing surgery hoping to cup chase.

Since then, Detroit has suffered three March collapses and missed the playoffs, while his hometown Buffalo Sabres have finally broken a 14 year playoff drought. Kane cares a lot about his family, and while he did express a desire to return to Detroit in his post season press conferences, that was before Dylan Larkin’s trade request went public.

Re-signing with Detroit could mean more playoff misses, and it’s not like Kane is getting younger, or healthier. Injuries limited 88 to just 67 games, though he still managed 57 points and crossed the 500 career goal mark. There’s certainly a market for Kane, but it seems for the moment that he’s more than willing to let the dust clear a bit more before he makes any decisions about where he plays next season.

On the back 9

Aside from Kane, Perron, Talbot, and van Riemsdyk would seem to be the most likely to be signing NHL contracts sometime this offseason. They’re also some of the most veteran players in the NHL, with Talbot now being the oldest active goaltender after Jonathan Quick’s retirement earlier this year.

The NHL likely doesn’t have much appetite for a netminder who appeared in less than ten games following the Olympic break. However, Talbot had a solid beginning to the season, with the Red Wings relying on him for most games before John Gibson got up to speed in December.

Perron and van Riemsdyk are both approaching 40, though both still put up respectable numbers last season in depth roles. Injuries limited Perron to just 65 games with 13 goals and 15 assists, and van Riemsdyk found himself playing in 72 games with three more goals.

In a weak free agent class, it looks more and more likely the Red Wings won’t be signing any of their own free agents. It may be that aside from Kane and Gustafsson, no team does.