Can Jake Walman’s Future Be the Red Wings?

The Detroit Red Wings weren’t overly busy at this years NHL trade deadline. Having made only a couple moves, there wasn’t much to say about it at the time.

Looking back on the deadline there wasn’t a whole lot that the Red Wings could do that would truly benefit their team. Being in the late stages of a rebuild, they weren’t going to give up assets to acquire a player on a one-year contract. It’s not logical.

However, that was my thoughts on the matter post-trade deadline. Now, I think the Red Wings fans would be a bit more enthusiastic for their move to acquire defenseman, Jake Walman.

Jake Walman was formerly apart of the St. Louis Blues before getting traded. The trade that sent Walman to Detroit also included forward, Oskar Sundqvist and a Second-round pick next year. In exchange, the Red Wings gave up left-handed defenseman, Nick Leddy. Which, if you ask me, the Red Wings have won that trade regardless.

I mean you think, just getting a second-round pick for Nick Leddy is pretty good- but you also got an established player in Oskar Sundqivst and a developing player in Jake Walman. I’d say that trade worked out pretty well. However, it doesn’t mean as much if you let Walman walk who has established himself on this team.

Jake Walman’s Future with the Red Wings

Since becoming apart of the Detroit Red Wings, Jake Walman has done nothing but show he belongs in this league and that he has the potential to become a top line defenseman if he can continue to develop and see minutes on the ice to learn.

When he was with the St. Louis Blues, most of his time came from other defenseman being hurt, not neccessarily earning the right to play over others. Which, the Blues clearly made a mistake for. His skating is something that you cannot argue. He is an elite skater, but the thing that makes him have such a high ceiling isn’t even his skating.

Walman, since being traded to the Detroit Red Wings hasn’t really produced the stats to show how well he’s performed, but stats don’t always mean everything. He has been able to fire shots from the perimeter, has made multiple great defensive stops but more importantly- he learns from the mistakes and continues to get better every game. That’s all you can ask of a player like Walman.

Not really ever seeing minutes with the Blues, it is hard to really help him grow as a player. However, now that he is seeing minutes with the Red Wings it’s becoming more and more clear the player that he can one day be. But has he done enough to earn himself another year with the Red Wings? Let us know in the comments what you think of Walman.