Thirty five after the hour. Glad you're with us on this edition of Exes and Bros. Throughout the great state of Michigan. On in Cadillac and Grand Rapids and Flint and Grayland and Gaylord. We're up in Midland and Saginaw, Bay City, Potoski, Charlavoi, Traverse City, all those areas. Obviously read Max Boltman of the Athletic. If you want to know what's going on with the Red Wings, that is where you go, and you can follow him on Twitter on x at M Underscore Boltman. He joins us here on
Exes and Bros. Max. Thanks as always, appreciate your work, Appreciate your diligence and your research and all the things that you've done. And I was really taken in by your article yesterday about the Red Wings and the not just the draft, but by the free agency and the lack thereof and your honesty with it. How do you grade I'm not looking for a letter grade, I'm just looking for your opinion. How do you grade what the Red Wings have done so far, even though it's early on in free agency?
Yeah, I think if you look at the moves that they have made, everything's pretty fine. I think it's like a solid yet okay vision contract here, you know, little value here. But where I struggle is when I zoom out, I just don't see really other than goaltending, where I do think they got better. I don't really see many other parts of the game where I look at it and I see a team that's in a better spot
in the standings than they were last year. Now you may say, hey, big picture, they may call some kids up, they may get some guys playing time, and that's the better thing. I think that's a perfectly reasonable argument. But in terms of competitiveness and you know, trying to improve on where they were at last year, where they were at tiebreak early from the playoffs, I think a lot of their contributors went elsewhere yesterday and I
don't really see meaningful upgrades on any of those guys. Shane Dosispare walks away. He was their powerplay quarterback. He goes elsewhere for a pretty decent deal. They replace him with Eric Custison, who I think is pretty similar to Gosta Spaar but didn't have quite as much offense. Louise David Perron, huge leader, huge party of power play, tough guy, one of the best down low wall players and puck possessors in the league. He gets out of
town and I don't really see an obvious replacement for him. So right now, you're right, it's still early. They've still got lots of time. But I think there's a few different areas of their team where maybe you look like, well, did they really get much better? What would you have liked to have seen them done? It can't be just re signing Gosh, Despair and Perne, because you're basically bringing the same team back. You don't want that necessarily. What would you have liked to have seen them do to
improve this team? Yeah, it's a great point, and I think that that is important to not get lost year. To me, I think what it comes to to, I would have liked to see a a little bit more meanness, particularly on the blue line. I think if they could have added a real shutdown D on the right side and maybe they still will on the right side, to take some burden off, a more outsider to eat
some of those defensive minutes. To me, I think that's one of the areas they really struggled last year, was was overburdening more excited was keeping the tuck out of their own net. And I also think frankly, I would have probably tried to go out and added a forward defensively that could have given them a little bit more. You know, the number that Alex Wenberg ends
up getting is five million dollars at two years. That is a little steep, so I can understand where they might have wanted to stay away, But somebody of his profile is kind of what I would have been looking to do, and maybe they still will. I think, you know, they needed to improve their team defense. They did that a little bit with the goaltending, but in terms of the blue line and even the forward core, where I thought that you know, a lot of the issues actually started with having
a bunch of forwards who weren't all that defensively responsible. I think those are kind of the two areas that I had point to. You can read them on the avalatic at m unders score Boltman. He's Max Boltman joining us here on Ex's m bros. Knowing that and understanding about the defense. Like you said, where does this team stand with the possibility of trading for that type of talent that they couldn't sign so far in free agency? Yeah, And I think that is kind of the key here, is yes, free agency.
You know, a lot of the top names have kind of started to get off the board here, but you still have time if there's somebody comes available now. You know, the name that I think was out there in a lot of reports was Jacob Truba. Is that going to happen now? It sounds like reading some of those same outlets as a New York Post has really heavily reported on this one, first kind of to bring the trade delight and then to really downplay it. So maybe that one's not actually as out
there as it sounded like a couple of days ago. If not that, where else do you look? I don't know the answer to that question. So if it's not that, are there other ways they can get better? Can they get a little tougher upfront? Can they try to replace some of that I'm on the wing where they had bron playing. I think that's all possible. But in terms of like throwing a real obvious name out there for
you right now, there's not a big one that's jump into mind. And I think that's kind of part of where you look at where they're at right now, and you say, okay, we'll can Steve Weison then do here to get this team at least back to where they were at kind of entering the off season. What do you think it would take to get Truba in a Wings uniform. It's a great question. I don't know. To me, I think that the biggest question I have. He's got a no trade
clause and he obviously has some control over his situation. I think the biggest thing it would take is the New York Rangers retaining a lot of cap space in Jacob True would be unwilling to come. I don't know the answer on either of those two questions. I'm not saying that that I do. But you know, to me, he did sit a profile that checked a lot of those boxes they've talked about. He's a great dissensive sense me, one
of the most physical players in the NHL. When his name was out there in some of those reports, I think there was a real obvious that, especially because he didn't come too much term on the existing contract. But I don't know if that is still on the table or if it ever was. Frankly, so that's maybe that ship's kind of not sailing to again. I don't know how real it was or not, but it's certainly not seeming like a likely avenue right now. What do you think they needed more of scoring
or defensive protection? It's a good question to me. The answer I think would have been defense. I think you find others who would say scoring. You look at when Dylan Larkin was out and how much they missed him. I think that that's a reasonable time of the year where they could have used more offense. But I think at the end of the day, I still look at it and see they were the ninth highest scoring team in the NHL, and it was the defensive end where I think they really got dead.
So I think they ideally you want both, and you did find the way to keep Patrick Kane if you're the Red Wings, so that helps with the scoring. It's on the way to keep Christian Fisher. That helps with some of the the matchups. He he's a really nice matchup player for the Reverings. They probably needed it to improve both, but I think the defense there was more room for improvement, and so I think maybe that's why it stood out to me as the top need. Max Boltman joining us from the athletic
here on Exus and bros. Read his stuff on the athletic and make sure that you follow him on x at M Underscore Boltman. This opens the door for younger players, and I love what you wrote. You basically said you can't have it both ways. You can't say, hey, I want to see the young guys, but on the other hand, I want to sign all these veterans too. There has to be a nice mix, so it
opens the door. Who do you think this takes advantage of this scenario most in terms of the younger players with the Red Wings who are vying for NHL playing time. Yeah, and I think we have to see if the rest of the off seam to play out to see if those spots hold. But if so, two guys i'd point to, Carter Maser and Jonathan Bergrian are both guys who I think we are kind of at the fringe of will they be ready for the NHL to start the season or will they start the season
in green rapids. They both I thought had really good playoffs in the AHL this year, and they both have a little bit more of that hard to play against the profile. They are rookies, so you don't want to expect too much of them in that way too fast. But I think they're both tough kids. I think they're both smart kids, responsible hockey players, and
I think Maser in particular has shown some pretty nice goal scorings. Have actually really praised his shot at his press conference a couple of weeks ago before the draft. So maybe one of those guys is a guy who can carve out more of a role than we were maybe expecting. And if that's the case, I think there's something to be said for that. But you know, they've also said they don't want to really leave spaces for some of these kids
yet, they want to make them bump somebody out. So we'll see if there's any other moves coming and if those in Maine as clear a path as right now. Yeah, Max, let me ask you. This pressure is self induced, right, We all know that, but you write about it. I talk about it in regards to Steve Eisman and the job he's done.
How much pressure additional pressure, I should say, do you think will be on the general manager going into this season knowing that sure they've gotten better in terms of points and they're getting closer to postseason play, but the East is so tough and especially the division. How much more pressure does he do you think he gets from the public and from you and your colleagues going into
this season. Yeah, I see, I think some now, you know, coming into April and May, I did think it was possible something that this would happen, just because of the salary cap. That the biggest obstacle of the I think they're fighting right now is that they have to get more excited Lucas Raymond two of their best young players on new contracts this year,
and those deals have not been done yet. We know they're going to take up somewhere between ten and fifteen million more in cap space, and those two guys counted for last year deals I think are going to come in somewhere between like six and nine million for both of them, as what I would ballpark right for each of them, I should say. So it gets harder when
you're concentrating that money there to also spend the other places. And I think we do have to be conscious of that that they are those are the realities of their cap situation. But when you come within a tiebreaker of the playoffs, you know, expectations do go up, and with expectations comes pressure.
Especially for a team that's been after this for a while and is seeing some of its young kind of core members keep ticking up an age, right, Dylan Larkin is going to be twenty eight this summer, and you know, you haven't been to a playoff game since this first season with the Red Wings. So doesn't mean they have to rush. It doesn't mean they abandoned the plan or anything like that. But I do think that that's where the pressure comes from, is building a winner on schedule to get the most out of
some of their important pieces. What do you like or don't like about their goalie situation with whoso lion now Talbot and Campbell. Well, I like Talbot, especially in particularly the durability showed last year nine thirteen save percentage for LA in fifty four games. You'll take that, a'll bait. That's an NHL starting goalie, So I like that edition. I liked the contract. He's
thirty seven, but he was thirty six last year. It was pretty good, right, So I'm not ready to write it off just yet in terms of, you know, where's that age curve coming? What I am still unsure about is they've now got a lot of money tied up there and they have three guys tied up there, and it didn't sound like that was their hope to have three guys in the NHL again next year. Goalies don't always like that. It's hard to share two nets between three guys at practices,
let alone in games. We'll see what if there's something else coming there, and my guess would be that there would be, especially because they also went out and signed Jack Campbell. I think that one's more of a number three at that He's probably in Grand Rapids with Sebastian Kosa. But there got a lot of guys in the goalie room now, and so what I like, I think they got better. What I'm not sure if I like is is it all too crowded there right now? But they still got time. You
brought up age, So I want your opinion on this. How old is too old in the NHL. It's different based on the sport you play. We've seen guys play deep into their late thirties, sometimes early forties and still be very successful and very productive. And the reason I asked this is not just because of what you said about Talbot, but also because of what Nashville did with Stamkos and Marshashall, who are thirty four and thirty three respectively and
signed long term deals. Yeah, and I think that's the question that a lot of teams are trying to work other it. I think some people would tell you that it's a little different bar for the superstars right similar like the Patrick Kane's thirty five. I don't think there's any reason to think Patrick Kane slowing down in the next two or three years. Necessarily, He's got a lead hockey brain, he's got great hockey hands. Stephen Stamkos has a great
shot. These these are things that we don't expect are leaving you with age, but it does come for everybody. And I think probably even if they have the exact same for every person, you are talking about kind of in that thirty five ranges where you start to get worried. And if I had to guess, why did the Red Wings not give Steven Stampost that same contract that Nashville did, it's the term factor. Will be the first thing that
I would point to. They got Patrick Kane on the one year deal, and I think when you look at what they wanted to do, that makes a little more sense for them. They give them four years to Stephen stampos Let alone. If they got Kane, that's less money. So I do think that that term factor, that age factor that you're talking about, is probably one of the reasons why we didn't see the Red Wings in on some of these top top names. And I think that's the perfectly reasonable decision to
make by them. It's just you got to find another way then to get better if you're not going to do it by that avenue. I don't want to say you were underwhelmed with their draft, but I'm not sure you were raising the flag for the men they drafted either or the boys, the eighteen year olds that they drafted. What was your overall take on the hall that
they pulled in on Draft day or Draft weekend? Well, I really liked their first round pick, Michael Brantick neguard Is was one of my favorite prospects in this draft. He's got some size and he plays a real complete game. You'll get in on the fore check. He's a great defensive player, and he's got one of the best shots in the draft. To me, that's a player that you can find a use for in a bunch of different places in your lineup, I think the most likely is in your top six.
So I really like that pick at fifteen, and I was impressed by Max Plant their second round pick. He wasn't somebody that was maybe as much on my radar at that spot in the draft coming in, But after talking to a few people about him right after that pick, I can kind of see what they're going for there. He's a playmaker. He's a guy who's showing he's got a lot of offense, and that's something that they lack in their system. In terms of being underwell, I would say it's like a
solid B draft. I don't think there's anything wrong with it that I do think, you know, you're still kind of wondering can they find in the draft this guy who's going to outperform where they were drafted. I think that that's something you need in the NHL if you're just going and you're hitting on your first round picks and you're not really getting a big find later in the draft, and I think it's really hard to get better quickly. They have
one of those guys that's who I mentioned earlier in Carter Maser. He was a third round pick. A couple of years back, and he definitely looks like he's going to make the NHL. He's going to outperform where he was picked. They got a couple of defense and they've picked him the sick round. I do believe we're going to make the NHL, but I still think you're kind of looking for a little bit more of that. But the deal with the NHL draft check is, you know this, obviously, it takes
these guys so much longer after the first round. Once you get beyond the first round, you're talking about probably four or five years before you're going to see these kids in the NHL. So I guess we're just going to have to kind of see where it goes, all right. Lastly, real quick, overall NHL free agency. You know, whether it be I don't care, Mantha going to you know, where do you go Calgary, or whether it be Marciuso going to Tampa or Gensel going or Marshlso going to Nashville or
Genssell going to Tampa. What was your thoughts overall on on the NHL free agency and the biggest surprise perhaps, well, I think I saw that it was the first time that a billion dollars was spent on July one and in total contracts, so that was a one big headline a lot of term. Washington, I think was a team that I didn't expect to go the route
that they did. You know, they were the team that got in the playoffs on that tiebreaker over Detroit last year, and they brought in some win now guys and Jacob Chickrin who they traded for at a pretty good price, and then Matt Roy who was a defenseman. I think a lot of people saw as fitting that, you know, shut down right the role the Red Wings needed. He's a local product. A lot of people thought that could
be a fit. Well, he got a whopper of a contract from the Capitals seven years and I think it was five or five and a half alliable with the AAV So you can see why the Revans probably wouldn't have gone to that number with him, but the Capitals all of a sudden, I think what you will about Pilot du Bois and the gamble that they make in trading for him. There they are a team that looks like they should be better
than they were this last year when they got into the playoffs. So from a Red Wings perspective, I think my big takeaway with a lot of the team that the Reddings are trying to catch did not make it any easier to catch them. Well, threw a lot at you this morning, and you handled it all exceptionally well, no surprise. They're great stuff with the athletic great stuff on x or on Twitter, Max, thanks for the time today,
man, really appreciate it. Keep up the great work. But I appreciate you listening and appreciate you joining us and educating our listeners a little bit more. Hey, my pleasure, Matt. Thanks so much for having me and appreciate your reaching out.