Detroit Red Wings: Ken Holland talks trade deadline and Filip Zadina

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 04: Gustav Nyquist #14 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on December 04, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Tampa Bay won the game 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 04: Gustav Nyquist #14 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on December 04, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Tampa Bay won the game 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

It’s been a quiet start to the trade deadline season for the Detroit Red Wings. Usually, things start rolling after the all-star break, and that’s precisely what happened, except nothing has included the Wings yet.

With teams waiting to hear the fate of players like Mark Stone and Matt Duchene in Ottawa whether they will be resigned or dealt.  Also, teams are waiting to see if Wayne Simmonds in Philadelphia will be moved.  This is prolonging the Detroit Red Wings and Ken Holland from shipping the likes of Gustav Nyquist out of town, plus he has a no-trade clause.

Brian Boyle just got flipped to the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick.  Nyquist is a much better offensive player than Boyle but not nearly as effective in the defensive zone.  Boyle a large body who loves to rattle the boards, he has that nasty streak in him that power forwards’ need to apply in the playoffs to remain extra effective.

Just because the Devils got a second round pick for Boyle doesn’t mean Nyquist will automatically return a first round pick to the Red Wings.  Boyle is strong in the faceoff circle and although like we mentioned he isn’t as offensively gifted he kills penalties and is tremendous in the faceoff circle.

The best case scenario for the Detroit Red Wings would be if the Sens were able to resign both Duchene and Stone prior to the trade deadline.  This would elevate Nyquist’s trade stock by taking a pair of gifted scoring forwards off the trade board.

Other notable forwards being shopped around are Artemi Panarin, who the Jackets may decide to hold onto and use as their own rental player if they can’t get a contract extension done.  As we previously mentioned Wayne Simmonds who is coming off of a core injury that has slowed his production this season.  He’s only achieved 24 points in 52 games this season, but 16 of those points are goals.

Mats Zuccarello is another option but he like Simmonds is having an “off” year with the New York Rangers only recording 9 goals and 28 points this season.  He’s missed a lot of time due to injury, but his point production is down from where it’s been in the past.

. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Holland will work the phones but also wants to resign some of his own players (surprise, surprise)

Quotes all come from Nicholas J. Cotsonika ( @cotsonika ) of NHL.com; Ken Holland talks about possibly trading some of his veteran players;

“It’s a matter of working the phones and seeing what people think of our players,” Holland said. “Do they want our players? If I can get a player signed and nobody’s prepared to pay a big price, then I’m obviously going to re-sign those players. But certainly if somebody’s prepared to pay, I don’t want to say a big price, but a price that we feel we can’t pass up, then we’ll look at going in that direction.” Holland will explore trades for players under contract beyond this season too, but Detroit does not have issues under the NHL salary cap. “Even if we sign some of our players back, we still have cap space,” Holland said. “So it’s not like I need to move players of any variety to get cap space. We don’t need space. I’ve got cap space, and we can get in the [free agent] marketplace in the summertime.”

The back end of this comment is quite alarming.  So Ken Holland is already thinking about resigning some of these players?  If that doesn’t describe Ken Holland and his “being loyal to a fault” nothing ever will.

I would be open to a reunion with Gustav Nyquist and Jimmy Howard.  The pair has both played some of the best hockey of their careers this season.  Nyquist is thriving in more of a Zetterberg-esk setup role as long as the term isn’t outrageous and he doesn’t command a large cap number.  With Dylan Larkin signing a long-term deal worth 6.1 million per season it actually helps the Wings management keep the others at a reasonable cap number.

Howard is having a tremendous season, an all-star season as a matter of fact.  He should draw a lot of interest over the next week or two.  He owns the second-best save percentage in the league during five on five play.  That is something to be proud of while playing for one of the bottom teams in the league.

The Detroit Red Wings don’t have a netminder currently ready to step in and start or back up Jonathan Bernier for the long haul.  They would be able to survive the remainder of the season with either Patrik Rybar or Harri Sateri backing up but will need to address a second netminder in the summer.

That being said, Jimmy Howard even at 35-years-old on a short term deal, preferably a two-year contract could be a feasible resigning candidate for the Detroit Red Wings. Howard in all likelihood will seek a three-year-deal with an average annual salary worth about 4 million per season.

(Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Ken Holland says it’s highly unlikely he will trade Kronwall.

I could see Holland wanting to resign Nick Jensen with Niklas Kronwall possibly retiring at the end of the season.  That would leave a spot for Filip Hronek to be a regular right from the get-go next season, leaving Ericsson as the seventh defender.  The Detroit Red Wings would potentially open the season with five veteran defenders (DeKeyser, Jensen, Daley, Green, Ericsson) and the latter three will all be free agents to be at the end of next season.

Ken Holland on Kronwall;

“I never say never to anything. It’s my job to work the phones. But I do think out of respect for what he has accomplished and contributed to our organization, to our team, in his time, that he deserves to be involved in the process. Highly unlikely.”

The Detroit Red Wings are expected to flip both Green and Daley at some point next season before the trade deadline.  That leaves a young player like  Gustav Lindstrom or Libor Sulak an opportunity to land a regular spot later on midway through next season.

Jared McIsaac has one more year of junior eligibility next season.  Although he’s having a great season this year for the Halifax Mooseheads, I expect the Detroit Red Wings to allow him to marinate one more season in the QMJHL.  IN 36 games he has 11 goals, 31 assists totaling 42 points and is a plus 17. There is a chance if he has a great camp and preseason similar to Dennis Cholowski this past summer, the Wings may give McIsaac a look before making a final decision whether to send him back or keep him.

The Detroit Red Wings may be able to sign Nick Jensen to a team friendly cap number, and he’s proven time and time again that he’s more valuable to this team than I initially thought he’d be. On the other hand, Holland could consider flipping Jensen and targeting a defenseman with greater upside via free agency.  Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers should both be at the top of the Detroit Red Wings list.

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Red Wings will get a look at Filip Zadina in March.

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Sort of the Evgeny Svechnikov treatment from last season, we will get a look at Filip Zadina after the trade deadline has passed.  The Wings can give Zadina a taste of the show by playing him 9 games and not burning the first year of his entry-level contract.

Not only just that but Zadina won’t need to be protected during the Seattle expansion draft.  It’s a good thing for a young player who’s played well in Grand Rapids to come up and play at the NHL level right before the season ends.  It will allow him to get a grasp of what to expect going into next season.

Ken Holland talking about giving Zadina a look this March;

“We’re going to give Zadina a little bit of an opportunity in March. I want him or the young players to see what the NHL is all about, so as they head into the offseason [they know what they need to work on]. I think a young player can really improve in the gym between June and August. “When you’ve had young players that have had a ton of success in junior, in college, in Europe, the expectations are they’re going to go to the NHL and they’re going to have that same success, and I think adversity’s a good thing. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

So far in 39 games with the Griffins, this season Zadina has 11 goals and 12 assists totaling 23 points, but he’s a minus 14 on the season.

Next. Potential Landing Spots for Jimmy Howard. dark

I expect Filip Zadina to be a staple in the Detroit Red Wings lineup from day one of next season.  With the potential of adding Evgeny Svechnikov and Joesph Veleno that leaves Thomas Vanek unsignable.

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