Thoughts on Possibly Signing DeKeyser

Western Michigan defenseman Danny DeKeyser is officially a free agent and the Red Wings are among a group of pretty much every team interested in signing him. TSN’s Bob McKenzie says that, while Detroit has long been considered the front-runners, several teams are interested.

Some think top contenders for DeKeyser are DET, STL, ANA and EDM but multiple teams have high interest. PHI and OTT will be pushing hard too
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 24, 2013

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen him play in person but I’ve been on DeKeyser watch for awhile now based on scouting reports alone. As I said a couple days ago, I’m probably more hopeful that the Wings sign him than I should be.

I have far too much hope that DeKeyser comes to Detroit than I should.
— Clark Rasmussen (@detroithockey96) March 23, 2013

The reasons for that are less about what DeKeyser could do for the Wings on the ice and more about what his signing could signify.

Here’s a guy who – whether he should be or not – is a much-sought-after player. He has his pick of places to play. And the Red Wings are in on that.

Does that sound like a familiar scenario? To me, it sounds a lot like last summer, when the Red Wings ended up spurned by everyone in that position.

Brad Stuart left Detroit to go back “home” to play in San Jose. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter chose Parise’s home of Minnesota over Detroit (among many others). Even Nicklas Lidstrom decided it was time to go back home to Sweden.

Here’s a guy for whom the Red Wings organization would be home. He’s from Macomb, where he played with Red Wings’ assistant GM Jim Nill’s son Trevor. He played four years in Kalamazoo with the Broncos, coached for one of those years by former Wings’ assistant coach and current Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill. The Griffins and the Red Wings are his home teams.

Some times you can’t compete with the opportunity to play at home. That’s what we heard from the Wings’ brass when they lost out on all of those players last. What does it mean, though, if even with that opportunity on their side, Detroit still can’t sign DeKeyser?

We’ll see. I’m still hopeful. Every team that gets added to the list of suitors casts doubt on that, though.