Wings close to signing a top 4 defenseman
In the middle of the Eddie to Florida article in the Detroit Free Press, this little tidbit was thrown in.
The Wings, meanwhile, are close to signing a top-four defenseman. Holland wouldn’t reveal a name, but it is someone who can play 20 minutes a night, indicating a shake-up to the rotation that finished last season’s playoffs. Since the newcomer wouldn’t bump Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall or Mathieu Schneider, presumably Brett Lebda, Andreas Lilja and Chris Chelios would rotate as the odd man out.
The Wings are also in the market for a forward to help amend the loss of Brendan Shanahan. In the past few days Holland has made offers to restricted free agent forwards Johan Franzen and Jason Williams, the latter of whom has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday if no deal is reached before then.
Possibilities for this top four defenseman would include Brian Leetch, Sean Hill, and Danny Markov. For Holland to acknowledge that he’s almost close to signing this guy, it means that this deal is going to happen.
The Wings are also hoping to reach a deal with Williams before he goes to arbitration because that certainly is an unpleasant experience for both sides and with the way things are going, he could garner a high salary depending on the arbitrator.
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