3 Forward Targets Red Wings Failed To Acquire This Summer

The Detroit Red Wings haven't done much at all to upgrade this offseason despite their efforts. Whatever the reason, it isn't a great look for general manager Steve Yzerman who may be on the hot seat since the team has yet to get into the playoffs yet.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Red Wings had interest in Nikolaj Ehlers, but the top free agent forward didn't even have interest in meeting with Detroit in free agency. On top of that, the insider reported that Viktor Arvidsson and Mason Marchment were trade targets that didn't pan out. This could possibly be due to low-ball offers draft pick-wise. Both trade targets that didn't happen were cap dumps as well, making it even easier than other potential targets.

The Red Wings have $12 million in projected cap space with a need to still add a top-6 winger to push Andrew Copp down from the second line. The way Detroit's lineup is looking right now, it doesn't seem to be a playoff-bound team.

Free agency won't help the Red Wings at this point since they missed out on all of the players who could be slotted into the top-6. Now it's up to acquiring at least one player via a trade before the season starts since the group may fall behind due to lack of offense.

There are more options out there for Detroit to still target and maybe we hear more success from them than the failures of the offseason as the days pass, but for now, this hasn't been a memorable or encouraging summer for the Red Wings at a time where they needed some big upgrades to take that step back into the playoffs.