With little salary-cap space and a thin market, the Detroit Red Wings’ options in free agency were limited.
Either do nothing and give young players/prospects an opportunity or more prominent role or acquire complementary pieces.
The Red Wings did the latter, by signing defenseman Trevor Daley for three years and defenseman/right wing Luke Witkowski for two seasons.
They have not made any trades and probably won’t deal before the season – they have limited trading chips with apparently limited trade value (unless they moved a core young forward, which is highly unlikely).
This means the Red Wings will return with almost the same roster they had in 2016-17, when they finished 16 points out of a playoff spot.