Detroit Red Wings: Best Addition And Worst Subtraction Of The Summer

Now that the off-season seems to be slowing down, we have a pretty good idea of every team's roster heading into this upcoming year. In this segment, we will be going over the best addition and worst subtraction for each of them. Something important to note is that players who were re-signed or given extensions will not be eligible for the "best addition" section. The same applies for picks from this year's NHL Entry Draft.

In this piece, we will be looking at the Detroit Red Wings. General manager Steve Yzerman deserves an A+ for a grade for how he handled this off-season. He brought in many talented players in smart trades and through free agency. If he continues to do this well with transactions, Detroit should be out of their rebuild very soon.

Best Addition: Alex Nedeljkovic G

Nick Leddy would have been the player for this section if the Detroit Red Wings did not shockingly steal Alex Nedeljkovic from the Carolina Hurricanes. All they traded for him was a third-round pick and the rights to Jonathan Bernier. Bernier did not even sign with Carolina, either. Nedeljkovic had a breakout season as well. He sported a 15-5-3 record to go along with a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV%. If he can replicate those totals, the Red Wings should be able to claw themselves out of their rebuild sooner rather than later.

Honorable mentions also need to go out to Leddy and Pius Suter. They each are fantastic additions for Detroit.

Worst Subtraction: Luke Glendening C

Bernier would make sense as the worst subtraction, but he was a part of the Nedeljkovic deal. Therefore, losing him ended up being a good thing. Due to this, it feels right to shine a light on Luke Glendening. Although he is a bottom-six forward, he is absolutely marvelous at the faceoff dot and penalty kill. This season he won 60.9% of his draws, which led the team and is now a career-high. He also spent the last eight seasons with the team, where he played 554 total games. The Michigan native will be missed.

Bobby Ryan also is a notable loss, as he was very solid in his lone season with the team. Perhaps they should consider bringing him back. The veteran is still a free agent.

Check out our last piece on the Philadephia Flyers here. In our next installment, we will be focusing on the Ottawa Senators.