The Detroit Red Wings have far exceeded expectations this season and sit in first place in the Atlantic Division. However, general manager Steve Yzerman can't sit back, and now is the time for him to be aggressive by making a big splash. The best chance to do that would be trading for defenseman Rasmus Andersson to shore up the blue line.
It would appear that Yzerman is well aware of that, based on some of the rumors recently from Jeff Marek. Last week on The Sheet, he was talking with fellow insider David Pagnotta about the potential landing spots for defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
"I was on Sekeres & Price today wondering about the Detroit Red Wings, and you know, they're probably looking for a top-four veteran defenseman. Rasmus Andersson, I would imagine, has at least been a point of interest for the Detroit Red Wings, and they're probably not the only team," Marek said.
David Pagnotta agreed with Marek and said along with Detroit, that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, and Vegas Golden Knights were interested at one point or still are.
Rasmus Andersson is the perfect fit to lead this young Red Wings' blue line
Rasmus Andersson is in the final year of his contract and has been having one of his better seasons as of late. Through 45 games, Andersson has 28 points with nine goals and 19 assists after only 31 points in 81 games last season.
The Detroit Red Wings should welcome the chance to add an experienced player like Andersson to this defense. Through the first part of the season, they have had six defensemen play at least 30 or more games. Of this group, only one is over 25 years old in Ben Chariot. However, he could be considered one of the bigger weak links in this group because he is being asked to play too much.
At this point in his career, he is better suited to be a third-line defenseman but is averaging over 20 minutes per game. According to Natural Stat Trick, Chariot has been on the ice for 35 goals against and 448 scoring chances against in 5v5 situations, both of which are the most on the Red Wings. In fact, he has been on the ice for 83 more scoring chances than the next player, Moritz Seider.
The addition of Andersson gives head coach Todd McLellan a way to improve the second pair of this defense. He could have Andersson on the top pair with Moritz Seider and move forward with two right-handed defensemen for that top pair.
In that scenario, Simon Edvinsson would move to the second pair with Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Chiarot moves to the third pair with Jacob Bernard-Docker if he wants to keep a left-right pair for the other two lines. If McLellan wanted to stick with the left-right for all three pairs, Andersson could be on a second pair with Chiarot, and then Sandin-Pellikka would replace Bernard-Docker on the third pair.
It is hard to imagine that whatever direction the Red Wings go, it can't be a bad move to add a veteran like Andersson. The Red Wings find themselves in a position they haven't in 15 years with a chance to win a division, and for a franchise that has been patient with Yzerman, it is time for that to be rewarded with an aggresive trade like adding Rasmus Andersson.