Five key players that Yzerman could trade at the deadline
The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is less than three weeks away. Trades must be made before 3:00 PM ET on March 21. So far this season, Detroit General Manager Steve Yzerman has been very quiet, almost too quiet, in making moves with his current roster. In fact, Yzerman has not made any trades since moving goaltender Jonathan Bernier to Carolina for Alex Nedeljkovic, last July.
Speculation continues with Yzerman moving impending UFA’s such as Nick Leddy and Vladislav Namestnikov before the deadline. The Red Wings will continue to stockpile draft capital in the hope of landing a player that can help them down the road.
Last year, Yzerman shocked Hockeytown by dealing Anthony Mantha to Washington. In exchange, the Red Wings acquired sniper Jakub Vrana, a 1st round pick in 2022 that turned into Sebastian Cossa, and a 2nd round pick this summer.
Does Yzerman have another blockbuster up his sleeve this year? The Red Wings have six players who could become UFA’s after the 2023 season. Maybe one or more of these players will be on the move within the next few weeks or months.
Here is a look at five Red Wings players who could be moved in blockbuster fashion.
Dylan Larkin
One year ago, Red Wings fans were calling out Dylan Larkin as a captain that could never lead the team through the rebuild. Larkin’s play had regressed to a point where fans thought that Larkin needed a change of scenery.
Fast forward one year and Larkin is now the face of the franchise. He currently leads the Red Wings is goals and points and has been routinely the best Detroit player this season.
Why a trade makes sense: Larkin has one year remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $6.1M annually. Larkin will be an UFA at the end of 2023, meaning that he can leave Detroit and the Red Wings will not receive any compensation.
It is no secret that Larkin wants to win. He said so in an interview last week. Last year, he was frustrated with losing. In seven seasons, Larkin has played five games in one playoff series. At some point, Larkin will decide on his own if he has a future with the Detroit organization.
Larkin is having his best season since joining the NHL. The Red Wings could trade Larkin and acquire an enormous haul that could help the rebuild for many years to come. The trade doesn’t have to occur before this trade deadline in March. Larkin could be traded before the NHL Draft in July, or he could be a candidate at the trade deadline next March.
Why a trade doesn’t make sense: Larkin has become an on-ice leader for the Red Wings. There is no rush to move a player of Larkin’s caliber. Larkin will likely sign an extension prior to next season. There is no doubt that he will be extended an offer by the Red Wings before he becomes an UFA. Yzerman is building a nice young team around Larkin, and a trade of their captain could set the rebuild back several years.
If Yzerman can’t extend Larkin before the 2023 trade deadline, I am sure that he will be moved to a playoff contender.
Tyler Bertuzzi
For the past four seasons, Tyler Bertuzzi has been the an important piece of the Red Wings top line. When Bertuzzi was hot, the Red Wings won. When he was out of the lineup or had a bad night, they lost.
This year, Bertuzzi has been terrific playing on line with Dylan Larkin, and more recently, Pius Suter. He has been one of the top Detroit forwards throughout most of the season.
Currently, the biggest issue that the Red Wings have with Bertuzzi is his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He is unable to travel to games in Canada. Before Christmas, Bertuzzi missed three games in his home country. Moving forward, Bertuzzi will miss an additional six games in Canada before the end of the season.
Why a trade makes sense: Bertuzzi has one year remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $4.75M annually. Bertuzzi will be an UFA at the end of 2023, meaning that he can leave Detroit and the Red Wings will not receive any compensation.
Bertuzzi is a hot commodity with his tenacious play and scoring ability. Teams will likely be willing to send Detroit a nice package to acquire the feisty forward.
The Red Wings have missed Bertuzzi for a number of Canadian games this year, and General Manager Steve Yzerman might make the move to avoid losing one of his top players for an extended period of time.
Similar to Larkin, if Yzerman can’t extend Bertuzzi before the 2023 trade deadline, I am sure that he will be moved to a playoff contender.
Why a trade doesn’t make sense: Bertuzzi is an important member of the Red Wings. He is liked by his teammates and is adored by the Red Wings faithful. There is no rush to trade Bertuzzi because he is under contract for one more year. Bertuzzi helps make Detroit a more difficult team to play against. He plays on either the #1A or #1B lines and plays an important role on the PP.
Pius Suter
Pius Suter signed a two-year contract with Detroit after being a Chicago rookie last year. Suter started off slow, but has picked up steam after being reunited with former junior teammates Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri. The trio make up the #2 line on Detroit and are commonly referred to as “The Guelph Line”, because they played in the OHL together when Guelph went to the Memorial Cup in 2014. This line has provided the necessary depth that has been missing from the Detroit lineup during the recent non-playoff years.
Why a trade makes sense: Suter also has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3.25M annually. Suter will be an UFA at the end of 2023, meaning that he can leave Detroit and the Red Wings will not receive any compensation.
Even though Suter has improved and provided depth at the center position, he can be replaced by Joe Veleno who is younger, stronger, cheaper, and has more upside than Suter.
Teams that are searching for depth at the center position will be asking about Suter prior to this deadline, in the summer, and before the deadline next March. If Yzerman decides that Suter can be internally replaced, he will likely be shipped out at some point in the next 12 months.
Why a trade doesn’t make sense: Suter has terrific chemistry with Bertuzzi and Fabbri. The trio provide secondary scoring and this takes the pressure off the Larkin line. When the top two lines are scoring, the Red Wings are entertaining and more difficult to play against when compared to recent years.
Suter is also an affordable option at the #2 center position. This allows Yzerman to spend in other areas of need, especially on defense and in goal.
Filip Hronek
Filip Hronek has been a top four defenseman for Detroit for the past four years. Last year, Hronek actually lead the Red Wings in scoring. The emergence of Moritz Seider has allowed Hronek to play on the second defense pairing for most of this season.
Why a trade makes sense: Trading Hronek makes sense for Detroit because he has a difficult time defending in his own end of the ice. Since he entered the NHL, Hronek has been a very high minus player when it comes to +/- ratings.
The Red Wings are actually quite deep on the right side of their prospects list of defensemen. Detroit have drafted or signed Wyatt Newpower, Annti Tuomisto, and Oscar Plandowski in recent years. Each of these players have the potential to play in the NHL.
Detroit would receive a plethora of prospects for a player with Hronek’s pedigree.
Why a trade doesn’t make sense: Hronek is solid as a member on the #2 defense pairing. In future years, Hronek could play with recent #1 draft choice Simon Edvinsson and the duo could help lead Detroit to many long playoff runs.
Hronek is locked in with a $4.4M contract for two more years after this year. Hronek will remain under team control for another contract because he is only going to be a RFA at the end of his contact in 2024.
There is no rush to trade Hronek. If he is paired with the right partner, Hronek can continue to be an effective player for many years to come.
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