As the NHL trade deadline is vastly approaching, there has been much debate on whether the Detroit Red Wings would be buying or selling.
The Detroit Red Wings have some key players in their current lineup coming up as free agents at the end of the season who could be attractive to a team making a run for the Stanley Cup. The news came in that another one of those players is off the trade market with the signing of Jake Walman to a three-year contract extension. This is the second recent development, as the Wings recently signed Olli Maatta to a two-year extension keeping another solid defenseman on the team for the near future.
Walman received a well-deserved raise as his new contract is for an AAV of $3.4 million, a significant bump from the $1.05 million he was receiving, according to capfriendly.com. The Wings needed some help on the blue line when Steve Yzerman and his team picked up Walman in a trade deal with the St. Louis Blues that involved Nick Leddy. So far this season, he has scored five goals and five assists in 40 games, which is great to see since he had only scored three goals in his entire NHL career before this season. There is no reason to believe that Walman won’t collect several more goals and assists before the season ends, making this his most productive year to date.
Jake Walman has been a solid addition since joining the Detroit Red Wings.
Walman has been a great addition to the blue line for the Wings in his first full season with the team. His defensive instincts are great on the ice, and he makes a lot of intelligent defensive plays. His plus-minus rating is at +17, proving he has done his defensive job. Walman has been right where he needs to be to break up another team’s offensive opportunity on many occasions, and I feel he will only get better with time.
Jake Walman, signed to a 3x$3.4M extension by DET, is an offensive defenceman whose instant chemistry with a previously-struggling Moritz Seider has made the model fall head-over-heels for him. Profiles as a good top-four player at least though, very good bet for the Wings. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/PelpNqudxB
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 28, 2023
Walman also has a great slapshot and excellent skating skills, making him an offensive threat. Teams know they need to take him seriously on the offensive end, which helps open up the forwards when he is on the ice. He has had some timely goals this season, with his best being the overtime winner in the Wings’ comeback win from a 4-0 deficit in Pittsburgh earlier this season. However, I won’t comment on his dancing skills. Another goal of his that stood out to me was in the game at home against Winnipeg when he scored the first goal of the night and set the tone for another home victory.
It has been great to see Mr. Yzerman making some moves to sign some key Red Wings players ahead of the upcoming trade deadline to take some drama out of this week. I hope to see a couple more players locked up rather than traded. The team is heading in the right direction and seems to have some chemistry that will only improve by keeping the right guys on the team. The signing of Walman is another step in the right direction. Now if we can only get Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi signed!