Another week of Detroit Red Wings hockey. Another week of trade rumors as April 12 rapidly approaches. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James struck a human chord, writing how at some point, the team will be adding as they once did instead of the outward movement of players:
"Knowing the franchise will be a seller for yet another spring isn’t much fun for the players, even when their names are not part of the rumor mill.“I’ve been here for a little bit now and seen some teammates and friends get traded,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “It’s part of the business. At some point here, hopefully we’re not in this position for much longer.”"
Trade Deadline day used to be one filled with the rumors of players arriving in Detroit to push towards a Cup. Chris Chelios, Robert Lang, and Larry Murphy were all names acquired at the deadline. Now it’s the inverse: who on the current squad will be dangled to get a few more draft choices or prospects?
Elliotte Friedman wrote in his 31 Thoughts piece that Detroit is certainly in a fascinating spot trade wise:
"Detroit’s going to be interesting, too. To date, we’ve focused on the pending free agents: Sam Gagner, Luke Glendening, Bobby Ryan, Marc Staal. Not that GM Steve Yzerman reveals much, but he’s going to consider almost anything. I don’t think Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider are going anywhere, but other than them? I think there’s interest in Jonathan Bernier. He’s battled hard there."
Bernier was hurt in Detroit’s 3-2 win on Thursday, but the more telling piece here is that Friedman only includes Larkin, Raymond, and Moritz as off limits. Cue the Anthony Mantha trade rumors again.
Ryan has been discussed ad nausem, continues to be the most attractive option to most contending teams. His contract is just $1M in terms of a cap hit, he has consistently helped drive a Red Wings offense that has struggled at times, and he has been a huge add to a locker room that needed a fresh face and attitude after a brutal 2019-20 season. Though a first round pick may be a reach, Yzerman could finagle possibly a second, or a high end prospect by either taking on a bad contract or including a sweetener with Ryan.
Glendening is another option. Aside from his unbelievable faceoff percentage, Glendening has added some offense and been a consistent fixture on either the third or fourth lines. His value is also on the penalty kill. With a low cap hit, Glendening could also fetch either a complimentary player or maybe a 3rd or 4th round pick that could be used either in the draft or as a sweetener in another deal.
Bernier is the biggest question mark. Does Yzerman hold onto him, hoping the stability in net could hold the Wings over another season as they search for a more permanent option? Or does he sell high, in spite of another injury, hoping that a team needing depth for a long playoff run are willing to part with an asset or two that will help Detroit down the road.
Until he’s moved, Mantha remains to me, one of the members of the core that Yzerman will build around. But when someone as plugged in as Friedman writes something that only includes Larkin and the two top organizational prospects as untouchables, it certainly gets the wheels turning. Mantha has been playing better as of late and has shown flashes of the player fans have expected to be on the ice. But if Yzerman gets the right deal, no one–but the aforementioned Larkin, Seider, and Raymond, seems to be off limits.
It’s Yzerman and no one really knows what he’ll do. My money is on Glendening, Ryan, Bernier or Staal being shipped out. Gagner also has a low cap hit so he remains an intriguing option.
Trusting Yzerman with trades isn’t hard–just look at what he did to acquire Robby Fabbri.
We’ll have much more on potential deals and trade targets in the coming weeks.
Red Wings Had a Decent Week of Hockey
Ignoring the 3-0 loss to Dallas on Saturday, the Red Wings looked pretty darn good on Tuesday and Thursday. Knocking off Carolina 5-2 and then Dallas 3-2 courtesy of a Robby Fabbri hat trick kept things interesting and Wings fans engaged as the season clearly rolls into another “remember those bad years” territory. This is how my uncle talked of the 70’s and early 80’s. Then came the 90’s and 2000’s.
It was good to see Dennis Cholowski make an appearance. Here’s hoping he sticks for longer than four games. Evgeny Svechnikov was a healthy scratch Saturday, making it seem less and less likely that he’s anything but a fringe player in the organization’s mind.
The Red Wings’ Week Ahead
Four games in six days and against teams Detroit should have a chance against. The Wings roll into Nashville on Tuesday and Thursday and then return home to host Columbus in back to back games.