The Detroit Red Wings may look to trade Oskar Sundqvist.
Speaking of fourth-line wingers, the Detroit Red Wings may elect to trade forward Oskar Sundqvist. Sundqvist, 28, joined the Red Wings, like so many others, in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings sent defenseman Nick Leddy and tough guy Luke Witkowski to the Blues for Sundqvist Jake Walman and a 2023 second-round draft selection. You could say that deal has worked out nicely for the Red Wings. Detroit recently signed Jake Walman to a three-year extension, and he’s playing top-line minutes paired with Moritz Seider.
Sundqvist is primarily a fourth-line winger but has the ability to play center if needed. The 6-foot-3 forward has also spent time on Detroit’s power play, mainly serving as a net-front presence. The Swedish-born forward has recorded seven goals and 21 points over 51 games this season for the Red Wings, averaging a touch over 14 minutes per night.
Recently, former Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland mentioned that the Edmonton Oilers are still looking to add a piece ahead of the trade deadline despite already making a splash when they acquired veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm this past Tuesday from the Nashville Predators. The Oilers expressed some interest in Tyler Bertuzzi before Detroit traded him to Boston. They also kicked the tires on Sam Lafferty before Chicago sent him in a packaged deal that included defenseman Jake McCabb to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has mentioned that Sundqvist has been linked to the Oilers, but as Holland recently described, they are tight against the cap, so it’s a dollar in, dollar out. Sundqvist would be considered an upgrade to nearly any of the Oilers’ bottom six forwards.
"“You’re always looking for depth,” he said. “We’ve played at a relatively high level, the race in the West is really, really close. I’d like to get a little more depth, but we’re dollar-in, dollar-out. It’s tight, but we’ll see.”"
Holland recently acquired Nick Bjugstad from Arizona, so perhaps that will be his only depth move, but Sundqvist’s 21 points would rank him sixth among active forwards on the Oilers. Sundqvist carries a cap hit of $2.75 million and will become a free agent at the end of this season.