The Red Wings have issues, no doubt. One of which is the fringe contender status they find themselves in. This is an issue that can haunt a team for years, but if general manager Steve Yzerman wants to stick around with the organization that made him famous, it’s an issue he must solve in July.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press said it best in a recent headline that read, “Team flunked playoffs, but young players were A level.” And in many cases, they were, or at least in the forwards group. Heck, one look at Marco Kasper’s stats once he figured things out, and Lucas Raymond’s continued evolution drives that point home.
Still, there’s that gaping hole in the lineup we can’t ignore, and one I’ve talked about earlier in the month. But, what if this massive conundrum is a team full of sensational, young talent but without that ace of a player an easier fix than you may think? Or, than Steve Yzerman may care to think?
Red Wings could make a gutsy move to get out of this ‘fringe contender’ mold
Let’s face it: the Red Wings are in ‘fringe contender’ status until further notice. Good teams without top-tier superstars are. Take Connor McDavid off the Oilers and see what happens. Or, swap Nathan MacKinnon for Mikko Rantanen, and I guarantee you the Avalanche won’t be the same team.
Yeah, they may be good enough to sneak into the playoffs, but taking out that one player will scale them back, even in the real “ultimate team game” that hockey is. So, getting out of this mess is rather easy if you think about it, even if it means mortgaging a few players for that top-tier star.
It could turn into something similar to what the Vegas Golden Knights did to get Jack Eichel a few years back, something else I implied recently. Trade a first-round pick, a solid middle-six player with top-six potential, a high-end prospect, and a second or third-round pick, and go get yourself that player right now.
It’s not a hard move to make, even if it would mean shaking things up in a way Yzerman wouldn’t want to, given his insistence he builds this team primarily from within.
One bold move could change the Red Wings trajectory
This is one of those offseasons pitting what I think’s going to happen vs. what I hope’s going to happen. I think we’re going to see Steve Yzerman make minimal moves, and beef up the lower lines with more physical players. While that’s a smart move, it still ignores the fact there’s no clear-cut superstar in this lineup or even a player with a superstar ceiling.
No, I hope to see an out-of-left-field, blockbuster trade take place that will entice fans to create a countdown clock to early October even in the middle of the longest and most fun days of the year. Because who doesn’t like those long summer days, right?
Anyway, I know I’ll be saying, “Is it October yet?” a little earlier this year if Yzerman made such a trade. I’m not expecting it, but doing something like that, while it would shake up the prospects pool and cost the Wings a moderately productive player, will send shockwaves through the NHL. And that perpetual conundrum I mentioned earlier will be nonexistent.