Between the Red Wings losing Andrew Copp (pectoral muscle tendon) and Jeff Petry (???) to surgeries that have ended their respective regular seasons, the Free Press’s Helene St. James believes that the Red Wings have every reason to make some trades with their $12.2 million in salary cap space (per PuckPedia) before Friday’s 3 PM EST trade deadline…
But St. James and I aren’t certain whether the Red Wings’ GMSY and management group are going to go “all in”:
Are they far enough ahead in the rebuild to start peddling first-round picks? Because that’s what it would take to pry away a player who could come in and make an immediate impact. The Buffalo Sabres project to miss the playoffs for a 14th straight season, which could put some of their players in play — such as center Dylan Cozens (he’s 24 and in the second season of a seven-year deal averaging $7.1 million a season) or defenseman Bowen Byram (he’s 23 and a pending restricted free agent). But the Sabres are a divisional opponent, and that always makes for a trickier trade.
Yzerman could look to add older players with less term, such as Nashville Predators defenseman Luke Schenn (he’s 35, shoots right, and in the second year of a three-year deal averaging $2.75 million a season). There’s also Radko Gudas (he’s 34 and in the second year of a three-year deal averaging $4 million) with the Anaheim Ducks. Yzerman and Ducks GM Pat Verbeek go way back and have made multiple trades with each other; the most recent one had the Ducks acquiring goaltender Ville Husso. Schenn and Gudas are both solid third-pairing D-men who would add physicality to the back end.
This trade deadline makes a nice change from being sellers, as the Wings were Yzerman’s first four seasons as GM. Last year, his one move was to unload under-performing Klim Kostin. It’d be a boon if Yzerman could pull off the same with Vladimir Tarasenko, who has been a disappointment — eight goals and 16 assists through 57 games — after signing in July for two years at $4.25 million a year, but the second year on his contract will make that extremely tough, even if the Wings retain salary and throw in a draft pick.
Yzerman could opt to be quiet, of course. The Wings have integrated young players well since McLellan’s arrival; notably, defenseman Albert Johansson and forward Elmer Söderblom have found footholds in the lineup. The Wings are doing what Yzerman wanted to see when the season began, which is challenge for a wild-card spot. There’s no trade that’s going to turn the Wings into a contender for the Stanley Cup — and that could prompt Yzerman to put his faith in the roster as it is.
If the names above are the only names available, I don’t see why the Red Wings should make a big, asset-heavy trade that costs a 1st round pick and a top prospect as of this morning.
The team is on the cusp of a playoff spot, but maybe or maybe not quite there yet, and while they need another forward (hopefully one with grit) and a depth defender (with shut-down capabilities)…
I don’t see the point in going “all in” when the Eastern Conference standings are so tight and will remain tight all the way down the stretch.
I’d prefer that the Red Wings keep their 1st round pick this year, and that they don’t have to sacrifice somebody important like Sandin Pellikka or Mazur or Cossa in order to get what they need.
Sometimes a team’s transformation has to come from within, and this may be one of those years.
