Detroit Red Wings Claim Olli Juolevi
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both players on waivers today were claimed. Austin Czarnik, who was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the New York Islanders. After being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers yesterday, Olli Juolevi will be headed to the Detroit Red Wings, having been claimed as well.
Carter Rowney Injured Again
- Red Wings winger Carter Rowney left Friday’s game with what appeared to be a foot injury, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. He had just come back from a lower-body injury that cost him 17 games, scoring in two straight before last night. Veteran penalty killing forwards are often something playoff teams look to add by the deadline but this injury may end any chance of Rowney being on the move by March 21st.
Jakub Vrana Participated In Morning Skate But No Firm Timetable For His Return
- While Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana was a full participant in the morning skate today, there remains no timetable for his return, notes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Head coach Jeff Blashill has expressed optimism that the 26-year-old will be able to make his season debut soon as he continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery back in October. Detroit currently has a full roster and will need to make a move in order to activate Vrana off IR in the coming days.
Trade Deadline Primer: Detroit Red Wings
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
Lightning Claim Gemel Smith Off Waivers
Gemel Smith is heading back to Tampa Bay as TSN’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have claimed the forward off waivers from Detroit.
Smith started the season with the Lightning, spending a little more than three months on season-opening injured reserve. Once he was cleared to play in mid-January, he was claimed by Detroit and subsequently sent on a three-game AHL conditioning stint. Since returning from that nearly a month ago, the 27-year-old had hardly played, getting into just three games with the Red Wings where he had an assist while averaging less than seven minutes a game. With Detroit having some players getting closer to returning from injury, they opted to waive Smith to get some roster flexibility.
As Tampa Bay was the only team to place a claim on Smith, they were able to send him down to AHL Syracuse and have quickly made that move. Smith was quite productive with the Crunch back in 2019-20 with 40 points in 50 games and having played just 14 times between last season and this season combined, he should certainly benefit from some consistent playing time. He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum of $750K at the NHL level.
Rask, Bunnaman Clear Waivers
Saturday: While Smith was claimed by Tampa Bay, Johnston reports that Rask and Bunnaman both cleared waivers.
Friday: The waiver wire is busy today as three teams have exposed players to the rest of the league. Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Gemel Smith of the Detroit Red Wings, Victor Rask of the Minnesota Wild, and Connor Bunnaman of the Philadelphia Flyers have all been placed on waivers.
Smith is on waivers for the second time this season after being claimed by the Red Wings from the Tampa Bay Lightning last month. He ended up playing three games for the club and registered one assist, while playing three more for the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning loan. While he’s now available to the rest of the league once again, the 27-year-old did finally get a chance to play with his brother Giavani Smith for the first time in their hockey careers. Signed for two years and carrying a $750K cap hit, it seems unlikely that anyone other than the Lightning would put in a claim. If they do and are the only team to do so, he could be assigned to the minor leagues.
Bunnaman also was on waivers earlier, clearing just before the season started. He’s been up and down (and up and down) since, but now with 15 games under his belt this season needed waivers again in order to be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 23-year-old forward doesn’t have a single point in those 15 contests and now sits at just three points in 54 career games (plus four scoreless postseason appearances). Also signed through 2022-23 with a $750K cap hit, he too seems like an unlikely candidate for claim.
Then there is Rask, who will certainly generate most of the headlines among this trio. The 28-year-old center is in the final season of a six-year, $24MM contract he signed in 2016 with the Carolina Hurricanes and already cleared waivers in January. There isn’t any team in the league who will touch that contract, given how poorly Rask’s time in Minnesota has gone. Acquired in 2019 in a one-for-one deal that saw Nino Niederreiter go the other way, Rask has recorded 22 goals and 52 points in 149 games with the Wild. His ice time has continued to drop, to the point where even when he does get into the lineup it’s for just a handful of shifts. In each of his last five appearances, he’s logged fewer than 10 minutes.
Notably, even when the Wild assign him to the minor leagues they will receive just $1.125MM of cap relief. What they do gain is a roster spot, one that perhaps could go to a prospect like Marco Rossi, who continues to light up the AHL. Rossi has points in all but eight of his 35 games with the Iowa Wild this season, including six in his past four outings.
Vladislav Namestnikov Could Return Wednesday
The Red Wings should have winger Vladislav Namestnikov back in the lineup on Wednesday, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. If that’s the case, the veteran will only wind up missing a week with his current lower-body injury. Namestnikov has 13 goals and 10 assists in 49 games this season and is a candidate to be moved between now and next month’s trade deadline. The quick return also played a role in yesterday’s waiving of Gemel Smith as head coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged that the move was made to give them some extra flexibility with Namestnikov nearing a return as well as winger Carter Rowney.
Could Detroit Re-Sign Marc Staal?
Marc Staal’s first season with the Red Wings was good enough that the team re-signed him to a one-year, $2MM contract for this one, a deal that also carried a full no-move clause. Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News feels there’s a scenario where Detroit could go that route again with the 35-year-old blueliner. Staal is logging just shy of 17 minutes a night on their back end and can still contribute defensively and on the penalty kill, making him a useful veteran for a team that’s still rebuilding. Staal recently said that he enjoys being with Detroit and considering he controls his destiny when it comes to a trade, there’s a chance that he isn’t flipped by the trade deadline.
Vladislav Namestnikov Questionable Tomorrow, Nick Leddy Expected To Return
- Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill says forward Vladislav Namestnikov is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Wild, meaning that brothers Givani Smith and Gemel Smith could both draw in and play their first game together in the NHL. Defenseman Nick Leddy is also probable to return after sitting out with an upper-body injury for the past two weeks. Namestnikov has provided good value this season on his $2MM cap hit, proving to be an important depth piece for Detroit with 13 goals, 10 assists, and 23 points in 49 games. Detroit has played Gemel Smith in just one game since claiming him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning almost a month ago.
Troy Stecher Should Return Saturday
- The Red Wings should have defenseman Troy Stecher back in their lineup on Saturday against Philadelphia, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran has missed more than three months due to a wrist injury, a disappointing outcome in a year where he’s going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. His return will help offset the absences of Filip Hronek (COVID protocol) and Nick Leddy (upper-body injury) and if he’s able to play well over the next month, he could be an interesting trade candidate for Detroit heading into the trade deadline.