With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Detroit Red Wings have impressed this season, enjoying growth all around from their young core and gigantic rookie performances from Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. With the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference virtually set in stone, though, any playoff aspirations for Detroit at this point are ill-advised, but that doesn’t take away from the extremely solid stepping-stone season Detroit and general manager Steve Yzerman have built to help set up the future.
Record
23-24-6, 5th in the Atlantic
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$35.80MM today, $55.49MM in full-season space, 1/3 retention slots used, 43/50 contracts used per CapFriendly
Upcoming Draft Picks
2022: DET 1st, DET 2nd, WSH 2nd, DET 3rd, DET 4th, COL 4th, VGK 4th, DET 5th, DET 7th
2023: DET 1st, DET 2nd, DET 3rd, DET 4th, DET 5th, DET 6th, DET 7th
Trade Chips
Detroit’s on the emerging end of a rebuild, so any decent player with term for the Wings is likely safe from trade speculation. However, there’s a decent amount of pending unrestricted free agents for whom Detroit would love to retain assets.
The highest-caliber of these Detroit pending free agents is undoubtedly defenseman Nick Leddy. The long-time New York Islander was shipped to Detroit this past offseason in a salary-clearing move, with Detroit yielding a second-round pick to acquire his services. The 30-year-old has 12 points in 48 games this year and is still capable of logging top-four minutes, meaning that Yzerman should be able to at least recoup similar value for Leddy on the trade market. Leddy has struggled defensively, often being outshined by his partner Seider, but could benefit from facing lesser competition on a better team.
Marc Staal is another left-shot veteran defenseman on an expiring deal that could make some sense for teams. He’s having his best season in recent memory, rebounding with some solid two-way play after being an analytical nightmare for the past few years. His +12 rating is the only positive rating among active Detroit defensemen, and with a reasonable $2MM cap hit, many contenders could work him into a third-pairing/seventh man role with ease. He does have a no-movement clause, however, meaning he’d need to accept any trade in order for it to clear.
On offense, there’s Vladislav Namestnikov. Fifth on the team in goals with 13, he’s having a much better season than his first year in Detroit. He’s a good two-way presence capable of logging middle-six minutes, and his versatility among forward positions makes him an attractive option to have in the lineup when injury strikes. He could likely command a third- or fourth-round pick on the trade market, perhaps more.
Others To Watch For: F Sam Gagner ($850K, pending UFA), D Troy Stecher ($1.7M, pending UFA), G Thomas Greiss ($3.6MM, pending UFA)
Team Needs
1) 2023 Draft Picks — Detroit already has considerable pick depth in 2022 with an additional second-round choice and two extra fourth-round picks, but they’re lacking any additional selections in 2023. With that 2023 Draft class shaping up to be one of the overall highest-quality ones in recent memory, it would be wiser to load up the following year rather than trading for more 2022 selections. It could also give Detroit additional trade chip material at the 2023 Trade Deadline if the team finds itself in playoff contention.
2) Forward Prospects — While the Red Wings have an incredibly bright and deep future on defense, the Red Wings are now lacking many high-end forward prospects in the team’s development system after players like Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno have graduated to full-time NHL roles. Additional depth there would be a nice get for Detroit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Greiss (1/2 price) to the Oil for Koskinen, 2023 2nd
I agree that all trades should be focused on the 2023 draft and this could benefit both teams. Detroit could get a better & higher draft pick by waiting an extension year to get the compensation. I can see Yzerman taking on some salary so a team can make other trades. Getting 2nd & 3rd round 2023 picks would be nice. I don’t think they get a 1st unless they take on huge salaries.
I am for Detroit taking a 1st in the 2022 draft, only because a quality 1st in ’22 would be a year sooner in coming up to the Wings. Otherwise, I am OK with other picks being in ’23. But I don’t see a 1st coming back in a trade this year unless we give up a quality “core” piece.
Mo Seider should win the Calder without any doubt…perfect example of the type of player Yzerman drafts
He should even get some down ballots votes for the Norris.
Mo wins the Calder, And gets one Norris vote.
None of the players mentioned in the article will get a 1st round pick. And it’s unlikely, considering other players on the market, that Yzerman could get a 2nd round pick.
Yzerman is good, but other GMs are able to identify a bad deal.
… and Wings do have a good winger in the wings … Berggren.
No one ever said any of our players would return a 1st round pick, He said Namestnikov for a 3rd or 4th and there’s zero chance Yzerman would accept that. he wants a 2nd for $1,000,000 on Namestnikov anything less we just keep him and resign him.
Detroit’s been big on strong minor league teams for over forty years now.
That being said, I see them being serious buyers in the offseason. With that horde of picks and the ability to pay market rate for just about anyone, why not go shopping?