from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Pending unrestricted free agents are top targets for contenders as they shore up for a playoff run. The Wings have multiple such players: Forwards Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Pius Suter, Oskar Sundqvist and Adam Erne; defensemen Olli Määttä, Jake Walman, Jordan Oesterle, and Robert Hägg; and goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg.

Regarding Larkin, the most logical outcome is that the Wings get him re-signed. Walman, likewise, is a keeper. Määttä has really grown his game and has been a good fit on either the second or third pairing. If they move him, they’ll just need someone else like him, so it may make more sense to keep him and extend him, depending on what interest he begets as a trade asset.

Nedeljkovic has been playing well in the minors, and the Wings already showed they were willing to lose him by putting him on waivers. Either he or Hellberg are needed as a backup. Of the rest, Bertuzzi is the top guy who could draw an offer that would help the rebuild. Injuries have limited him to 17 games this season, and he has just one goal in that span, but he scored 30 goals last season and his history in the minors and juniors shows he is a playoff performer....

Nedeljkovic could draw interest from a team in need of goaltending help — while he has struggled this season, his overall body of NHL work is above average.

Then there's forward Filip Zadina, who was assigned to the minors on a conditioning stint this past week after being sidelined three months by a leg injury. Zadina, 23, hasn’t made an impact going on four seasons with the Wings, but maybe another team sees the potential for a fresh start with the former first-round pick. His $1.825 million cap hit through the next two seasons is certainly reasonable. While it's good to have a place to put players whose roles with the Wings have changed, it would be better if at least Vrana could be flipped for an asset.

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