Top 3 players the Detroit Red Wings could trade before Friday’s deadline
The Detroit Red Wings are in sell mode, and it feels like just about everything that isn’t nailed down is up for grabs—nailed down being a cornerstone type player or high-quality prospect.
Steve Yzerman recently shipped defenseman Filip Hronek and a fourth-round pick out to Vancouver in exchange for a conditional first-round selection and a second-round pick in 2023. Hronek becomes a restricted free agent following next season. It seems Yzerman received a substantial return for Hronek, thus making the transaction a no-brainer. Detroit sold Hronek’s stock high.
Yzerman followed that deal up with another significant move sending pending free agent Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins, garnering yet another first-round pick in return, along with a fourth-round selection in 2025. The first-rounder is a conditional pick in 2024.
As it stands, the Detroit Red Wings will have two first-round picks in 2023, along with three second-round selections. The organization will also have two first-rounders in 2024. This draft capital gives Yzerman and the Red Wings flexibility moving forward, whether Detroit elects to make their draft selections in the slotted spots or package up some of this capital to make some blockbuster trade ahead of the draft.
Also, I get the sense that Yzerman isn’t finished making moves ahead of Friday’s 3 pm Est. deadline.
Three Detroit Red Wings players to keep an eye on before the NHL trade deadline.
The first player to watch is forward Jakub Vrana. Vrana has had a very difficult year from a personal standpoint, along with his on-ice production. The 27-year-old winger has appeared in five games with the Detroit Red Wings this season, scoring one goal and totaling two points. Both of those points came over the first two games of the season before he was entered into the NHL and NHL Players Assistance Program.
Upon returning to the Red Wings, Vrana cleared waivers and struggled early on in Grand Rapids but started to come on strong a couple of weeks ago, prompting the Detroit Red Wings to recall the skillful forward. Since being recalled, Vrana hasn’t been able to do much of anything averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time buried on Detroit’s fourth line. With the Griffins, Vrana recorded six goals and 11 points over 17 games.
It’s truly a mystery what is going on behind the scenes between Vrana and the Red Wings organization, but he’s clearly fallen out of favor, and a fresh start is in order. The problem is that Vrana carries a $5.25 million cap hit and is under contract through next season. If Yzerman hopes to receive any return for Vrana, Detroit will likely need to retain 50% of his salary for the remainder of this season and next.
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.
The Detroit Red Wings may look to trade Filip Zadina.
Filip Zadina has never lived up to his draft hype, but we, as fans, need to learn to let that go and hope the organization can get the best out of the player moving forward. Many of us thought that Zadina would quickly become a scoring top-six winger for the Detroit Red Wings following his stellar junior season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In that season, Zadina recorded 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games leading him to become a top-six draft selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Level Draft.
The scoring skill has yet to ultimately translate to the professional level. The 23-year-old winger has spent time between Grand Rapids and Detroit since being drafted and has become a regular for the Red Wings over the past couple of seasons. Last year Zadina recorded 24 points, including ten goals in 74 games with Detroit. Yzerman saw enough to reward Zadina, who was a restricted free agent this past summer, with a three-year contract extension that averages $1.825 million.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger recently reported that Detroit is discussing the possibility of trading Filip Zadina.
The 6-foot winger has shown some sniping ability but has struggled to find the net on a consistent basis. Head coach Derek Lalonde has also been playing Zadina fourth-line minutes, averaging a career-low 12:57 per night. Earlier this season, Zadina suffered a broken leg after blocking a shot, limiting him to just 20 games. Over those 20 games, he’s recorded two goals and four points. In recent games, Zadina has looked far more responsible in the defensive zone, and he’s been noticeably better at backchecking.
Potential options to replace Filip Hronek. dark. Next
With Detroit shipping Tyler Bertuzzi to Boston, a player like Zadina should see opportunities to work himself up Detroit’s lineup. If Zadina remains with Detroit past Friday’s deadline, is rewarded for his recent progress, and finds himself getting an opportunity to play on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond in favor of Dominik Kubalik, perhaps he will become a more consistent offensive contributor.