from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
Had Yzerman signed Klingberg, it would have meant jettisoning Hronek, and Yzerman made it clear on July 14 that he wasn't interested in being put in such a situation: "What I wouldn't want to do is go and sign another free agent, a significant free agent, and put myself in a position where I have to trade somebody, because that's not a good time to do it."
Hronek is coming off a subpar season in which he struggled to adapt to losing his spot as the Wings' top defenseman to Seider. But Hronek is five years younger than Klingberg, and has a respectable 118 points in 245 games on a team that, since Hronek entered the NHL in 2018-19, has not had as much talent as the Stars.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek passes the puck during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena, April 23, 2022.
Since being named GM in April 2019, Yzerman has been careful about the contracts he has given to free agents.
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