The Detroit Red Wings are undoubtedly struggling. In the midst of a rebuild, there were hopes at one point in the year that they would actually make the playoffs. That hasn’t quite been the case. But that’s not on the players as much as it is it on Yzerman.
When teams are looking to make a run at the playoffs and/or look to go all the way- there is one thing that the organization generally does… Buy. The Red Wings failed themselves.
Looking back to March 21, 2022, there were multiple very talented players available on the trade block that could’ve helped this team achieve it’s hopes and dreams- but Yzerman didn’t make a beneficial move.
I know some of you guys may question that statement because Yzerman did trade for Jake Walman and Oskar Sundqvist, but that didn’t really help us out. I mean, Walman has played pretty well, and so has Sundqvist, but the weakest part of the Red Wings team is goalie and that was not addressed at the Deadline.
Now, I’m sure part of that had to do with giving up young assets. They weren’t going to trade away players or picks for someone they only had control of for one year. It’s not logical. However, with players like Jordan Binnington available who are still under contract, the fit for the value would’ve well been worth it.
But for a second we can even switch gears and talk about the defense. The Red Wings traded away Nick Leddy but they didn’t replace him with a top four defenseman. They replaced him with a player who is a very good offensive player, but a average-below average defensive player.
Now, once again, I’m sure the asking price was too high when Yzerman contacted teams, but if they were able to somehow land a player like Chariot or if Alec Martinez was available- land him, the Red Wings situation would be a lot better than where they are now.
Now, this is all in the past now, and we don’t really know the inside part of everything, but it really does feel like they could’ve done more to help this team not just this season but moving forward. But they still have the off-season to really make some moves.
I expect this off-season they will look to bring in a couple very talented players to help this team continue to grow and if I could lend an opinion it would be to sign Marc-Andre Fleury.
However, the player that I feel would’ve been best suited to help this team really turn into something special would be Marc-Andre Fleury.
I realize that Marc-Andre Fleury cost Minnesota a conditional first-rounder, and had a no-trade clause, so that wouldn’t have happened- but the impact he could have on the development of Sebastian Cossa and Alex Nedeljkovic would’ve been great.
Fleury is a very experienced goalie and has had the playoff experience that could help fine tune Nedeljkovic’s skills. The pressure on a goalie when competing for something as valuable as the Stanley cup can be traumatizing, but it’s what every team in the league is looking to accomplish. In order to do so, you have to have a capable goalie who doesn’t shy down in the face of pressure. That’s something that Fleury could help with.
Once again, all of this is speculation at this point, but it feels like they missed out on quite a bit at the trade deadline. And with that, it’s hard to look past it.