Red Wings: Breaking Down the Top 10 Potential Targets This Off-Season

Jeff Petry of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Jeff Petry of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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Detroit Red Wings
Sean Monahan. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

Sean Monahan, C, Calgary Flames

Sean Monahan is the poster board for “I need a change of scenery”. I mean, no one can tell me that he’s not a talented player because he was playing terrific hockey up until just a year or two ago. He was exactly what the Flames thought they were getting in him. But, recently, he’s found himself struggling just to be an active on the Flames roster.

The Flames are going to be wanting to move on from his $6,375,000 contract. I mean, for a guy who was a healthy scratch for many games this season, the Flames are not going to continue paying him that money. So, could the Red Wings make a move for him if the Flames work to retain some of his contract?

Let’s put this into perspective.

The Red Wings are currently without a center two. Pius Suter, Joe Veleno, and Michael Rasmussen are not top six centers at the moment. They need a center two and badly.

Sean Monahan, if you look outside of this past season, was exactly that if not better.

Discounting this past season, Monahan has played in 591 games with the Calgary Flames and has dominated. Having produced a total of 204 goals, 235 assists for a grand total of 439 points, his talent is undeniable.

If the Red Wings can leverage his few bad seasons and bad contract over the Flames, not only can they get him for nothing, but they may even be able to have them retain some of his contract.

This trade seems like a high upside move that I’m all for.