Who will be the new Red Wings?

UPDATE: The Sabres have signed Christian Ehrhoff, so there's that. See bottom of post for more on that.

At noon on Friday, NHL free-agency will begin, and unlike the last two years when the Red Wings were relatively quiet on the free-agent front, they'll be big-time players this year.

The Wings have $16,207,955 in cap space, which is a great number for a team that really only needs to add about two or three pieces. Of course, not all of that money will go to bidding on big-time free agents. Look for the Wings to wrap up deals with Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and Jonathan Ericsson, and perhaps even Chris Osgood. Eaves and Miller will no doubt be greeted with open arms by Wings fans, as they are both guys you can get for around $1 million or a little under and they'll shore up the fourth line.

Ericsson is a lightning rod for Red Wings fans, because we realize that he's still young for a defenseman, and he has a lot of potential. We just question whether or not he has the brain to be a consistently good defenseman in the NHL. So far, he's shown that the answer is no, although, again, he's young. I would not be against the Wings re-signing Ericsson for something around a $2 million cap hit. is that realistic? Not sure, but I think that's fair value. If he wants to hit the open market and a team wants to give him $3 million or more a year, then so be it.

Osgood shouldn't demand more than $1 million a year, and with Jimmy Howard as solid as he is between the pipes now (if you aren't yet sold on Jimmy, I don't know what to tell you) that's a good amount to be spending on a backup goaltender. Ozzie also brings a wealth of experience to the team, and he's comfortable in the backup role, helping out the younger netminder in Howard.

With those signings, the Wings are looking at about $11 million in cap space. I'm going to go conservative and say it could even be $10 million.

So what next? The first two players the Wings should target are Christian (Travis) Ehrhoff and James Wisniewski. They're the top two defenseman on the market, and it sounds like both would be willing to come to Detroit (most hockey players would). Chances are signing both of them will be slim, as they'll both command about $5 million or maybe more on the open market. The Wings will end up with one of these two, I would bet my house (that I don't really own, but whatever) on it.

I'm not sure which I'd rather have. I think I lean toward Ehrhoff because he's been a consistent point-producing defenseman. That's splitting hairs, however, because Wisniewski is certainly on an upswing and is coming off a career year points wise. Either way, pencil in a $5-6 million cap hit for either one of those two.

Again, I'll play it safe and say it's $6 million, leaving the Wings $4 million to spend. Here's where it gets tricky. Does Ken Holland decide he's happy with his forwards and spend the $4 million on another defenseman like Ian White (this is my personal favorite scenario), or does he spend on another forward who can add something to the third line and take a lower-level defenseman?

Do you go after a guy like Joel Ward with a $2 or $2.5 million offer, and hope his playoff performance hasn't inflated his ego? This could allow you to make a run at a guy like Andy Greene, a solid but not elite defenseman, who is from Trenton and would likely sign in Detroit for around $1.5 million a season.

There's also the Jaromir Jagr question. As of this posting, the prolific winger is not signed with anyone (it looks like it's coming down to the Red Wings or the Penguins). How much will he command? Could he be signed for $3 million? Will it take $4 million? I personally am not a fan of bringing in Jagr for one year if it's going to cost that much. If he just wants to be back in the NHL and take one more run at a cup and will play for $2 million, then yes, sign him up. Otherwise, I think those other options are better.

Whichever way the Wings decide to go, it should make for an interesting start to the holiday weekend.

Addendum: With Ehrhoff being signed by the Buffalo Sabres, that leaves the Wisniewski as easily the biggest free agent defenseman on the market. Him being from Canton helps the Wings, but now he can demand even more money, which means it's going to be tough to get him and White (whose price tag is also now going to go up). It might be a situation where the Wings opt for White and a guy like Greene, or Wisniewski, a low-level forward and hope Brendan Smith is ready. Either way, not a fan of this Ehrhoff news.