- In his latest mailbag piece, The Athletic’s Max Bultman covered what the Red Wings might do with defenseman Justin Holl moving forward. He was expected to play a key shutdown role for the club this season after inking a three-year, $10.2MM deal in free agency last summer, but he wasn’t even a regular in the lineup halfway through the year. Holl played in just 38 games, posting five assists and a +8 rating while averaging 15:05 per game. Bultman thinks it may be wise to pump the brakes on any buyout/trade speculation despite the tough season, though – after all, this is the same front office that gave him the three-year commitment less than a year ago. But he does point out the Red Wings offloading winger Klim Kostin , who carries a $2MM cap hit, on the Sharks midseason. He was in a similar situation to Holl, falling into frequent healthy scratch territory after being acquired by GM Steve Yzerman last summer.