Should the Red Wings bring Vladislav Namestnikov back next season?

After trading Vladislav Namestnikov to the Dallas Stars at the trade deadline, should the Red Wings bring him back next season?

As has been the case for the Detroit Red Wings for the last few seasons, they were sellers when it came time for the trade deadline. One of the players that was traded off was Vladislav Namestnikov who was dealt to the Dallas Stars for a 2024 4th round pick with Detroit retaining 50% of Namestnikov’s contract according to NBC Sports in their 2022 trade deadline tracker.

To me it seems like Vlady was worth more than a 4th round pick, especially with the Wings retaining half of his contract. I get the feeling that the Stars knew that he wouldn’t be staying around and this deal was purely a rental agreement to help with a playoff push. Did they have some understanding that he was not going to stay with their organization after the playoffs?

Looking back on Namestnikov’s stats from the 21-22 season at NHL.com he scored 25 points (13-12-25) with the Red Wings in 60 games and 5 points (3-2-5) with Dallas in the 15 games he played after the trade. Although he was a solid contributor for both teams, he is not setting the hockey world on fire with these numbers.