Updated 3x at 12:44 PM: The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun shared a trade deadline primer for the Eastern Conference, and I’m going to share the main points of his take on the Red Wings’ situation:
Detroit Red Wings: Sellers
Pending UFA Mike Green is the big fish on the market for the Wings. He’s got a full no-trade but is willing to waive it for the right contender. At least a two-asset haul including a first-round pick seems part of the ask. Does GM Ken Holland and his former Hall of Fame superstar Steve Yzerman get together on a deal? Or can Holland entice the Caps into taking Green back?
I’ve always assumed that the Wings would get 2 2nd-round picks for Green, not a 1st-rounder. We shall see…
Goalie Petr Mrazek is an RFA July 1 but it’s doubtful the Wings qualify him at $4 million so he’s really a rental in many ways, as colleague Craig Custance argued earlier this week. If I’m Holland, I’m all over the Flyers and Islanders with Mrazek. Otherwise, Holland will obviously listen on hockey deals for several of his players, but keep in mind as he continues to transition the Red Wings, he also wants a competitive team next fall, so this isn’t about giving away players for draft picks for the sake of it. If there’s a hockey deal that makes sense, he’ll listen to it.
LeBrun continues (paywall)…
Update: Via KK, NHL.com’s Rob Vollman discussed Green’s probable trade value:
Shattenkirk’s trade also provides a clue as to what Detroit may be expecting in return for Green. St. Louis received Zach Sanford, a first-round pick, plus two conditional picks for Shattenkirk.
That package isn’t without precedent; it’s almost exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs obtained from the Boston Bruins for Tomas Kaberle at the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline.
The Red Wings may not be expecting much less to part with Green, who can be an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Update #2: Here’s ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on the Wings’ status as sellers:
Detroit Red Wings
Deadline cap space: $233,525
Likely available: D Mike Green (32, UFA, $6M); G Petr Mrazek (26, RFA, $4M); Xavier Ouellet (24, 2019 UFA, $1.25M); LW/RW Tomas Tatar (27, 2021 UFA, $5.3M); LW/RW Gustav Nyquist (28, 2019 UFA, $4.75M, no-trade clause).
Would they actually deal… Andreas Athanasiou (23, RFA, $1,387,500)? The speedy winger is putting up the best per-game numbers in his career, and is coming off a bitter contract impasse with GM Ken Holland.
Deadline game plan: Trading Green. There’s going to be a robust market for the veteran, puck-moving defenseman, with the Lightning and the Maple Leafs among the suitors — two teams that could end up facing each other in Round 1 of the playoffs. If the Wings can’t pull at least what the Blues got for Kevin Shattenkirk last season, it’ll be a whiff.
Keep in mind that wherever Mrazek ends up for the rest of the season, that team can walk away from him in the summer during arbitration.
Tatar is, for my money, a better player than Nyquist, and has no trade protection. But he also has the higher average annual value on his contract and the longer commitment. Not for nothing, but Dallas GM Jim Nill and Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman were with Detroit when these two were drafted.
Best-case scenario: The Wings find there’s a bidding war for Green, and get above-market value for him.
