The Detroit Red Wings season will go down as a failure. After holding a playoff spot for the majority of this season, the Red Wings collapsed in March and had an even worse April to get eliminated from playoff contention. Now, fans wait to see what the team will do in the offseason and try to figure out what went wrong.
One question that will be asked is if they did another at the March 6 trade deadline. Although the team did find a defenseman in Justin Faulk, they didn't bring in a forward to really put their group over the top. If they did, maybe that would have made a difference.
During this past Monday's episode of Sportsnet's "The FAN Hockey Show" with Matt Marchese and Mike Futa, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman spoke about the Red Wings. When Futa brought up that he believes the Red Wings should have pursued New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck harder, Friedman said "I think they did... the ask was really high, really high."
Red Wings pursued Vincent Trocheck, but asking price was too high
It's no secret that the Red Wings were linked to Trocheck, who was arguably the top forward available at the trade deadline. Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues was the more lucrative option, but the team was looking for a massive haul in return for the center. Trocheck was a more affordable option contract wise, but Rangers general manager Chris Drury was looking for a lot in return.
The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano and Peter Baugh reported that Drury was looking for young, NHL-ready players as the centerpiece of any Trocheck trade. Mercogliano also reported right after the trade deadline that parties that were interested in Trocheck found Drury's asking price "unreasonably high" and that they hoped he'd reduce it once the trade deadline approached. Ultimately, the Rangers retained Trocheck for the remainder of this season, at minimum.
It's understandable why the Rangers wanted a premium return for Trocheck. He can produce offensively, win face-offs, and play a gritty game. He was under contract for three more seasons after this campaign. Then, there was the fact that Trocheck won an Olympic gold medal for Team USA this past February. Hence why the Rangers wanted a lot for Trocheck. Now, they are banking on a team to meet their asking price this summer.
The Red Wings were looking to end their playoff drought at nine seasons, and they looked to be in good position. Their path to the playoffs wasn't particularly easy, considering they are in the Atlantic Division. Instead of finishing in the top three in the division or even landing in the Wild Card picture, the Red Wings plummeted far out of position. They were even passed by by the Ottawa Senators. And now, the drought is at 10 games.
Would Trocheck had made a major difference for the Red Wings? We'll never know. But it will be something that fans will ask if the team's luck would have changed had they been able to land Trocheck.
Add us as a preferred source on Google