Warren Foegele would have been a bargain for the Red Wings
While the Edmonton Oilers are one of the NHL’s higher-scoring teams this year and have hovered near the top five in the category since their poor start. So, you can claim Warren Foegele has benefited well this season from the Oilers outburst from December until roughly mid-March, as he boasts a career-high in points, goals, and assists.
Still, a career-high is a career-high, and it’s not bad for a player whose game has often been relegated to defense on the lower lines, where he has specialized in generating takeaways and wholeheartedly making puck movement difficult for opponents. Since the 2021-22 season began, Foegele has stolen the puck 127 times, and his physicality would have been a welcome sight for a team that has just 19.2 hits per game, on average.
Since Edmonton was interested in creating cap space this trade deadline season, Foegele wouldn’t have cost much to bring to the Motor City. Thanks to his ability to score this season and continue to provide solid defensive play and shorthanded minutes when needed, the Red Wings missed an opportunity here.
The lack of blockbuster moves at the deadline is forgivable, considering Yzerman’s past transactions. But he needed to improve the team defensively and add a jolt of depth scoring. Foegele would have made for an under-the-radar, but also a brilliant move.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)