Afternoon round-up: Discussing a hypothetical Wings-Penguins trade; on Nielsen’s ‘numbers,’ Matt Ellis moving up the hockey ladder and the ‘Rink2Reef’ program

Of brief Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Joe Starkey answered reader questions today, and one of those questions involved a hypothetical trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford and the Detroit Red Wings:

Dave Ryckman, @dryckman_13: With GMJR including a first rounder in [Kasperi] Kapanen trade I’m inclined to believe he feels he can get a first in a deal for [goaltender Matt[ Murray. Do you see a team out there willing to part with their pick to land him? Quite a few teams need a No. 1 goalie. Need to hit home run with that move imo!

Starkey: I’ll take a double, Dr. Ryckman. I’m not sure there are a ton of teams willing to part with something significant (such as a first-round pick) for Murray. Kevin Allen of USA Today recently told me he believes the Detroit Red Wings would be interested, but not at that price.

Might the Minnesota Wild and GM Bill Guerin be interested? I think that’s a distinct possibility. Carolina, Calgary or Edmonton might see Murray as a guy who could put them over the top in big games. All it takes is one. I’m just not convinced there is one — at least not at the price of a first-round pick.

At this point, the Red Wings don’t need to invest a first-round pick in a starting goalie. No way, no how.

2. DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji examined Frans Nielsen’s 2019-2020 season “By the Numbers” today, so this is your friendly reminder that Nielsen is signed for 2 more seasons at $5.25 million:

850 – On Nov. 8 in a 4-2 home win over the Boston Bruins, Nielsen played in his 850th career game. He finished the season with 896.

250 – On Nov. 21 at Columbus, Nielsen skated in his 250th game as a Red Wing.

300 – On Jan. 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nielsen had the primary assist on Filip Zadina’s second-period power-play goal at 3:29, which was the 300th of his career.

Wakji continues…

3. In “Ain’t It Cool” news, part 1: WGR 550 in Buffalo reports that former Grand Rapids Griffins stalwart Matt Ellis has been named the Buffalo Sabres’ director of player development;

4. And finally, in more, “Ain’t It Cool” news, the Captiva-Sanibel Breeze reports that the Red Wings are among a trio of NHL teams helping youngsters from Florida Gulf Coast University build artificial oyster reefs with broken hockey sticks:

FGCU got more than 2,000 hockey stick shafts from hockey stick manufacturer Bauer, as well as CCM. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and other hockey organizations have also helped this cause nationwide.

Elijah Burns, Blair Foundation recipient, which is an internship for people involved in environmental studies, was working his first day, and was there to learn how to install these on his own.

“I’m so excited to learn about this. It’s really important for our local residents. We can use this as an education point,” Burns said. “We can teach people the importance of filtration and of water and how this helps the ecosystem.”

For more information about the Rink2Reef program, visit www.rink2reef.com.