Jonatan Berggren may have kick-started the Detroit Red Wings' comeback effort on Saturday night, but it shouldn't redeem him for all of his shortcomings. Berggren has seen time in the Red Wings' lineup because of injuries to players like Patrick Kane and has looked good as of late, with four points and two goals in five games.
Considering his pedestrian play since 2022-23, Berggren's most recent outburst of points should do nothing more than raise his trade value. In his 32 Thoughts column, Ellliotte Friedman specifically mentioned the Red Wings potentially trading one of their forwards when he wrote, "That’s another team that could move one at some point. Detroit has Erik Gustafsson in the AHL, and some forwards who might need a change of scenery because their runway is shortening in Motown."
Why Berggren, especially if the Red Wings look like they want to get younger? One reason is the value other forwards who have been in Detroit for a few years bring. J.T. Compher, despite being in his age-30 season, has played in all nine games, has five points and two goals, and has broken even in the plus-minus. He has also posted top-six minutes.
There's also Andrew Copp, but he's way too valuable as a defensive forward to move. Copp has eight blocked shots and seven hits despite posting a minus-3 rating. A minus-3 is never great, but the Red Wings also missed him late last season when he went down for the year, and they never adequately replaced him in the lineup.
Moving Jonatan Berggren could also forge a hockey trade with another Original Six team
It would be tough to move Copp or Compher to anyone other than a potential contender. Both also have modified no-trade protections, and with the Red Wings sporting a 6-3 record with 12 points, it would be tough to trade them to a bottom-feeder.
But there's one bottom-feeder who may be looking to trade a high-end prospect with more than enough NHL potential. The New York Rangers have been looking for a trade partner regarding Brennan Othmann, and he could easily join the Wings' pipeline if acquired.
The Brennan Othmann experiment hasn't gone to plan in Manhattan, and he has just 26 games worth of NHL experience since he debuted in 2023-24. Othmann may be averaging fewer than 10 minutes per contest so far in his pro hockey career, but he can be a sledgehammer, with 51 career hits and a career plus-six rating to go with it.
At even strength, he has a career on-ice save percentage of 94.2, and he's boasting a solid 10.5 on-ice shooting percentage. This isn't to say Othmann would bring immediate returns to Detroit, but he could develop into an excellent defensive forward, while Berggren can get a fresh start elsewhere.