Oh yes, trade talk is and should be heating up around the Red Wings, considering their heroic-like resurgence this season under head coach Todd McLellan. Under McLellan’s guise, the Wings have gone from disappointing losers to brewing winners in the blink of an eye - excuse the cliche.
And guess what? Like it or not, they’re buying at the trade deadline so they can finally end this playoff drought for good. But they need to be smart about who to go all-in for, and I got a trio of players they should seriously consider.
No, I don’t mean “all-in” as in trading multiple first-round picks and high-ranked prospects, or anything like that. Instead, “all-in,” in this context, means committing to one of the players listed below and doing what’s necessary, within reason, to bring them to Hockeytown so they can help the Wings play hockey again in the back half of April.
1 - Dylan Cozens
Yeah, Dylan Cozens has been in the rumor mill often, and given the way he’s face-planted with the Sabres in recent seasons, it’s a trade general manager Kevyn Adams shouldn’t hesitate to make. So, why in the world should the Red Wings want someone whose production has seemingly fallen off?
Two reasons. One, Cozens is a youngster who still has time to develop into a routinely solid player. And two, his presence would add a much-needed physical layer to a team that’s averaging about 17.5 hits per contest at the moment.
The Red Wings might be a good hockey team these days, but they still have a tendency to get outmuscled. Dylan Cozens would add a physical layer that this team needs and a young one at that.
2 - Casey Mittelstadt
I know I’ll take heat for this one because Casey Mittelstadt hasn’t done much in Denver. But during his latter days in Buffalo, Mittelstadt garnered a reputation as a playmaker, notching 44 assists in 2022-23 and snagging an additional 39 before the Sabres traded him to the Colorado Avalanche.
Mittelstadt has since been an eyesore to watch and no, he’s not the physical pest that the Red Wings need. But, given their scoring struggles earlier this season, inserting someone like Mittelstadt into the middle six would work well for a team that can use another playmaker and garner even more consistency in finishing sequences.
No, Mittelstadt won’t finish many of those sequences, but that’s not the point. Instead, he’s got a recent track record of helping teammates finish them. It’s why he’ll end up on another playoff-worthy team, and probably for a decent price.
3 - Brad Marchand
Yeah, Brad Marchand’s getting dealt somewhere this season, and as mentioned earlier, someone who’ll bring a dose of physicality is what the Red Wings need. But the aging Marchand brings more than that, considering his experience and reputation as an outright pest.
All of the above is what the Wings will need as they brace themselves for the ‘down the stretch’ period. While the obvious con is that they wouldn’t get anything long-term out of Marchand, as would be the case with Mittelsttadt and Cozens, Steve Yzerman has also shown us he’s not afraid to bring in older players.
We saw that with Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Cam Talbot. While this trio hasn’t brought back staggering returns and has even struggled a time or two, they’ve been solid. As for Marchand? He’s got 19 goals and 42 points in 55 games as of Wednesday. Not his greatest numbers, but not bad.