Brendan Smith to the Rangers
Brendan Smith was a first round selection, 27th overall, of Detroit in 2007. He played parts of six seasons for the Red Wings. In 291 games with Detroit, the left defenseman scored 15 goals and 67 points. At the time of the trade, Smith had a cap hit of $2.75 million. He then signed a four year extension with New York before signing an one year UFA deal with Carolina last month.
In return for Smith, the Red Wings acquired a 3rd round selection, #88 overall, in 2017 and a 2nd round draft pick, #33 overall, in 2018.
Zachary Gallant was selected in 2017. He played five seasons for Peterborough (OHL). He was captain for the last two seasons in Peterborough. He scored 172 points in 254 OHL games. Detroit’s lower farm team in Toledo (ECHL), signed Gallant to a professional tryout after his OHL season ended in 2019. He scored four points in four regular season games before scoring 12 points in 24 playoff games for Toledo. He went back to Peterborough for his final OHL season scoring 65 points in 59 games before signing a free agent contract to play for San Jose (AHL) next year.
The 33rd pick of 2018 was the icing on the cake for Detroit. Jonatan Berggren was slated to be drafted late in the first or early second round. After serious injuries derailed parts of two seasons, Berggren had a healthy third season playing for Skelleftea (SHL) scoring 45 points in 49 games. This earned Berggren an entry-level contract with Detroit. Expect Berggren to challenge for a spot in the opening night lineup of Detroit as early as this coming season.