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interest in Mathias Brome
An interesting bit of speculation resurfaced this week on NHL interest in Mathias Brome from the SHL. The 25 year old winger put up 17 goals (43 points) in 52 games playing for a team that was relegated. Essentially similar numbers to Larkin/Bertuzzi/Mantha and in a similar situation. The article lists Vancouver and Detroit as two of the most interested teams.
We can all thank Atermi Panarin for a disproportionate amount of hype regarding international players that GMs look at during the summer. The Bread Man was, and is, a beast of an acquisition whose numbers seem to keep getting better. The humbling factor for international players, for me, is Oliwer Kaski. Seemed like an exciting get last year but didn’t quite pan out.
However, what I find interesting is that Yzerman is looking in that wheelhouse age of 25 with potential. Fabbri was a successful acquisition, Perlini not as much. Should Brome decide to take a chance with the rebuild, it’s another low risk add that will inevitably challenge other players to either take a job a be relegated/traded. Yzerman doesn’t have the same pull to make sure that players “in the system” find their place. He seems to want to challenge the status quo a bit and make Svechnikov/Rasmussen/Hicketts and others take someone’s job. With expiring contracts and a high draft pick on the way, the opportunity is there. It will be interesting to see how many invites/PTOs/etc Yzerman takes a look at this summer.
This year’s College Free Agent frenzy has already been a bit of a reminder that Hirose and Kuffner were exciting acquisitions who struggled. Kuffner has been moved, Hirose will probably have another kick at the can this summer.
The article continues on to say that Brome has turned down “millions” from KHL and SHL teams already to pursue an NHL contract. This may “favor” Detroit as the team only has 46 million committed. If the cap stays the same (which I feel may be the best case scenario) that leaves almost 36 million. Even with needing to sign Mantha/Bertuzzi/Fabbri and others, there is still a lot of room to play around with. I’m not for overpaying an unknown talent, but a ceiling team will be hard pressed to do even 2.5 mil to take a shot on a free agent. Detroit has that luxury, for now.
There are also rumors that Alexey Marchenko is being considered by multiple clubs. The right shot D man has good size, but was unable to secure a spot. Apparently his play in the KHL has piqued some interest. It’s the height of humor that clubs draft 8 players each year, and trip over themselves to go after undrafted or former assets that didn’t work out. It must be a real blow to the confidence of players in the system who are trying to develop and remain unsigned.
Well, what do you think? Is there a good fit for this Brome-mance? Let me know. We will have a bizarrely long free agency period this year. Speculation on the shortened season often leaves Detroit out of the equation. The Wings may well have played their last game this year. It is a sad and unceremonious end to a difficult season. It’s hard to believe how much I miss watching even a struggling team right now. I miss the sport, and hope we see hockey again soon.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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