Long-time Red Wings Kris Draper and Chris Osgood are waiting to hear if they will be brought back by the team for one more season. Neither has been informed of a decision yet because Red Wings GM Ken Holland has not yet made any decisions. Holland said that he is waiting for free agency to open and for the Red Wings to have an opportunity to evaluate all of their options.
"Right now, we owe it to ourselves to wait till July 1," Holland said. "I’ll talk to both players, but so much is unknown right now. We don’t know who is going to be on the market July 1. Is there somebody out there we think brings something we’d like to our team?
While Holland made it clear no decisions have been made on the status of Draper and Osgood, it certainly doesn't sound like the two players are going to be offered contracts to return next season.
"We owe it to ourselves to look at options. The torch has to be passed. If 40-year-olds aren’t passing the torch, we aren’t going anywhere."
With Joey MacDonald not returning, the Red Wings will need to find a backup goalie. Osgood wants the job, but the Red Wings aren't sure if he is worth the risk given the injury issues that have plagued him the last two seasons. If not for those issues, Osgood would probably be brought back for sure, but the Red Wings are going to take a look at which goaltenders are free agents before deciding either way.
As for Draper, the problem he is facing is a lack of room on the roster. The Red Wings already have 11 forwards signed for next season, and Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller are both probably going to be brought back as well. Cory Emmerton is also likely going to be on the roster since the Red Wings won't want to expose him to waivers, meaning there just isn't room for Draper as it stands right now. Obviously if players are traded a spot could open up, but it doesn't look good for Draper right now.