Latest On John Klingberg
One of the names talked about most this season when it comes to trade bait is John Klingberg, the long-time Dallas Stars defenseman and a pending unrestricted free agent. Klingberg hasn’t made any progress with the Stars on an extension and had previously been given permission to speak to other teams around the league about a potential fit.
If the Stars had planned on trading him, they likely are pretty grateful they waited, now that Miro Heiskanen is out indefinitely following a mononucleosis diagnosis. In the games since Heiskanen left the lineup, Klingberg has logged the following ice times: 26:41, 25:31, 23:36, 22:15. Not exactly a player you can easily replace if the Stars’ young defenseman doesn’t return soon.
Still, Saad Yousuf of The Athletic writes that Heiskanen’s absence is “not a deciding factor” and that the team hasn’t completely closed the door on a trade, even if it has become more unlikely. The Stars would be looking for a package that wasn’t exclusively future assets though, according to Yousuf, wanting a player who they could plug into the lineup immediately if any deal is reached.
That’s certainly not an easy move to make, and on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet–who has been on the Klingberg story from the beginning–talked about how difficult it would be for the Stars to give up a player when they’re this close to the playoffs. The team is now one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights with four games in hand, and still in the race for a Central Division spot beyond that. Marek confirms that there have been teams chasing the pending free agent (including the Carolina Hurricanes at one point) but that he is probably “too valuable” at this point for Dallas.
All Klingberg has done in his past three games is put up five points, taking his season total to 31 through 50 games. Despite the short stint on the third pairing, missed games, and the trade rumors swirling around him, the 29-year-old is still on pace for a 45-point season. If he hits that market, it would be for the sixth time in his career. The biggest thing Heiskanen’s absence might affect is the dollar figure on Klingberg’s next deal. A stretch run playing 25 minutes a night on a playoff contender certainly won’t hurt his market this offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Draft Capital, Juniors, Anderson
When it comes to acquiring rentals at the trade deadline, the most used currency is draft picks. Dozens of picks usually change hands, with several first-round selections being tossed around to try and give teams the best chance at the Stanley Cup. This year has an interesting “wrinkle” according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, who reports that 2023 selections are seemingly preferred over 2022 picks at the moment.
There’s no doubt that the excitement around next year’s draft is palpable. Not only is there Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov at the very top (though the latter’s status is a bit complicated by the recent change in the NHL-KHL relationship) but an early feeling that 2023 will be an impressive draft well into the middle rounds. That opinion manifested in a recent trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes. In it, the Maple Leafs surrendered a conditional pick that is either a 2023 third or 2025 second. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong even explained at the time that they believed 2023 would be a very strong draft, and that they would take that pick if “the player is there” when the turn comes up.
- There soon may be another league for scouts to visit, as Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that an announcement on a new junior hockey league based on the west coast is expected tomorrow. The league, yet unnamed, is backed by four NHL franchises and spearheaded, according to Kennedy, by Ben Robert, founding partner of West Coast Hockey Sports and Entertainment. The league would potentially give players from the area an alternative to the USHL or CHL.
- Craig Anderson is expected to generate some “tire kicking” according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, though the insider notes that it is likely up to the veteran goaltender on whether he goes or stays. Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman also touched on Anderson in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, explaining how much the Buffalo Sabres have appreciated his leadership this season. Anderson, 40, has a .907 save percentage in 18 appearances this season, winning career game number 301 on Sunday at the Heritage Classic.
NFL Free Agency Is Underway
Although free agency deals cannot officially be signed until Wednesday, agreements are coming at a frenetic pace. The NFL’s legal tampering period, which allows free agents to negotiate with other teams, began Monday morning. Head on over to Pro Football Rumors (@pfrumors on Twitter) to keep up with all the action!
Future Hall of Famers like Von Miller and Bobby Wagner headline a free agent crop that includes numerous Pro Bowlers, and after the NFL salary cap spiked by more than $25MM, budding young standouts will cash in as well. With teams needing to move under the $208.2MM cap by Wednesday, big names like Jarvis Landry and Za’Darius Smith are being sent to the market. The trade block continues to produce blockbusters, too.
Yes, Tom Brady is back. The Buccaneers and Broncos, who now have Russell Wilson headlining their roster, will be busy aiming to fortify their teams around Canton-bound quarterbacks. The Steelers appear to have pegged Ben Roethlisberger’s successor, agreeing to terms with Mitchell Trubisky. The Deshaun Watson market has accelerated to the point the Texans could land a historic trade haul soon.
Check out Pro Football Rumors for the latest updates from the start of unofficial NFL free agency. Follow the action on Facebook and Twitter.
Auston Matthews Suspended Two Games
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Hart-candidate Auston Matthews for the next two matches, after he was given a two-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety. The ruling comes after Matthews delivered a cross-check to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in yesterday’s Heritage Classic. As the accompanying video explains:
While we acknowledge Matthews’ argument that this is not a cross-check meant to harm or injure his opponent, it is also not a routine motion to box out an opponent or gain body position. Having just been involved in a shoving match with Dahlin that knocked him into the net, Matthews aggressively retaliates by raising his stick significantly and creating this contact. This is a high, forceful cross-check that makes contact with an opponent’s neck with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline.
Dahlin did not suffer a serious injury on the play, and Matthews does not have any history with the DoPS previously. In fact, the normally reserved Maple Leafs forward has only 68 penalty minutes in his entire career, no more than 14 in a single season. Still, this obvious show of frustration was one that immediately got the attention of the league and will end up costing him more than $116K in forfeited salary.
It will also put a closer watch on Matthews moving forward, as this incident will be considered when determining any future supplementary discipline.
More importantly, the scuffling Maple Leafs will now be without their best player as they try to get out of a tailspin that threatens to drop them out of an Atlantic Division playoff spot. The team has lost their last two and are 5-3-2 in their last ten, and now have just a two-point lead on the red-hot Boston Bruins.
AHL Shuffle: 03/14/22
There is just one game on the schedule for this evening, and not one that will garner a ton of interest given their respective seasons. The Arizona Coyotes travel to the Ottawa Senators in a match of two teams without any playoff hopes, though the former is at least showing a little fight down the stretch. The Coyotes are 6-4 in their last ten and have actually climbed within two points of the Seattle Kraken in the battle for last place in the west. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Boris Katchouk from his AHL conditioning stint, where he suited up three times for the Syracuse Crunch. Katchouk is coming off a period on the COVID list and has only played in two NHL games since the start of February. The young forward has six points in 37 games.
Metropolitan Division
- Depth defenseman Jalen Chatfield has been returned to the AHL by the Carolina Hurricanes. Chatfield is one of the leaders for the Chicago Wolves and only really sees NHL time as an injury replacement. In 30 minor league games this season, he has five goals and 11 points.
- Trey Fix-Wolansky has been loaned back to the AHL by the Columbus Blue Jackets, after playing his sixth NHL game last night. The 22-year-old forward has two points in those contests, with even that being an impressive number for a player selected 204th overall in 2018. In fact, Fix-Wolansky is the only seventh-round pick from that draft to score an NHL goal to this point.
Central Division
- The Coyotes have made a move before their game, recalling Michael Carcone and Cam Dineen from the AHL. Hudson Fasching has been sent back down to make room. Carcone, 25, has just one game under his belt at the NHL level but has been outstanding for the Tucson Roadrunners this season.
Pacific Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have loaned Martin Frk, Austin Strand, and Christian Wolanin back to the AHL, a move that may be undone tomorrow when the team is back in action. The Kings often send eligible players down between games to save some salary, though they are not accruing cap space while in long-term injured reserve relief.
- Not only has John Leonard been recalled from the AHL but he was practicing on the top line with Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov according to Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Leonard, 23, has 17 goals and 32 points in 45 games with the San Jose Barracuda but is still looking for his first NHL point of the season.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Paul Cotter and Brayden Pachal, giving them an extra few bodies as they travel to Winnipeg for tomorrow’s game. Cotter, 22, is welcomed back after making his NHL debut earlier this season and playing in six games, scoring twice. Pachal meanwhile has yet to see any NHL action.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Lars Eller Enters COVID Protocol
The league hasn’t seen many COVID-related absences in recent weeks, though the threat of a positive test is still hovering over every team in certain situations. Today, the Washington Capitals have lost a key forward for the time being as Lars Eller has been added to the COVID protocol.
Notably, the Capitals are just returning from a Canadian road trip, which would mean testing was required to re-enter the U.S. Eller’s placement in the protocol does not necessarily mean he is experiencing symptoms, making his absence indefinite at this point. In fact, he is still in Vancouver according to Samantha Pell of The Washington Post.
This is his second time in the protocol this season. Eller missed nearly two weeks in November and has played in just 53 of the team’s 60 games to this point. He has nine goals and 23 points in those games, matching the scoring total he had in even fewer games last season. While he’s never been an offensive force, Eller is one of the most consistent players on the Capitals roster and, before last year’s shortened campaign, had posted at least 12 goals and 25 points in seven straight years.
Hopefully, he’ll miss just a few days with this placement, though that could still cost him a few games. The Capitals are in action tomorrow against the New York Islanders, before hitting the road for games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes to finish the week.
Boston Bruins Sign Mike Callahan
The Boston Bruins have signed Mike Callahan to a two-year entry-level contract, one that will start in the 2022-23 season. The deal comes with an NHL cap hit of $883,750 for the former Arizona Coyotes prospect. The Bruins acquired Callahan’s rights last month for a seventh-round pick, suggesting that either Arizona had decided they wouldn’t sign him by this summer’s deadline, or that Callahan himself had indicated that he wouldn’t be signing with them.
Callahan, 22, is coming off four years at Providence College, meaning he won’t have much of a commute to his next team. Born in Franklin, Massachusetts, he’ll certainly be familiar with both the NHL Bruins and the Providence Bruins, where he’ll likely start his professional career. Serving as the captain in three of four years, Callahan recorded 66 points in a 138-game NCAA career.
The Bruins, rumored to be in the mix for several trade deadline targets, could use an influx of talent from the college ranks, especially on defense. While Callahan still has a long way to go before he is an NHL contributor, the first step is now behind him, and he has a two-year deal to show he has what it takes to climb the organizational ladder. With time still remaining in the AHL season, a tryout contract could get him into the Providence lineup before long.
Five Key Stories: 3/7/22 – 3/13/22
The trade market continues to be quiet with the deadline just over a week away but there was still some notable news on the transaction front which is highlighted in our key stories of the week.
Ristolainen’s Sticking Around: One of the more prominent potential unrestricted free agent defensemen is off the market as Rasmus Ristolainen signed a five-year, $25.5MM contract extension with the Flyers. The 27-year-old continues to be one of the more polarizing rearguards around the league. Philadelphia paid a significant price to get him at the draft including a first-round pick but his underlying metrics have never been good. Nevertheless, GM Chuck Fletcher clearly values Ristolainen to make this type of commitment to him, one that actually represents a small dip in pay compared to his current $5.4MM AAV.
Subban Won’t Be Sticking Around: The Devils have informed veteran defenseman P.K. Subban that they will not be retaining him beyond this season. The 32-year-old is in the final season of an eight-year, $72MM contract that at the time, made him the highest-paid defender in the NHL. However, his numbers have tapered off in recent seasons and he has just 18 points in 56 games this season. As a result of the decision to move on from him, New Jersey will likely try to find a taker for Subban’s services but since they can only retain $4.5MM of his AAV, that may be tricky to do and may require a third team to get involved to hold back another chunk. Either way, Subban will be hitting the open market in July.
Good And Bad News For Dallas: Joe Pavelski has certainly impressed since joining Dallas three years ago and is on pace for a career year at the age of 37 as he has 23 goals and 37 assists in 57 games. He decided he likes playing for the Stars and opted to turn down a shot at testing the open market, instead signing a one-year extension. The deal is worth a guaranteed $5.5MM with an extra $500K in games played bonuses – $100K for every ten games played up to 50. It’s a small decrease compared to the $7MM he’s making now while the bonus structure gives Dallas a bit of extra cap flexibility for next season since those can be rolled over to 2023-24 if needed. Unfortunately for the Stars, the news wasn’t all good as blueliner Miro Heiskanen is out indefinitely due to a bout with mononucleosis.
Another Injury For Fabbri: Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri has had some tough luck when it comes to knee injuries over the years and it looks like he will be dealing with another one as he is believed to have suffered a torn ACL. If that’s the case, his season will be over and he’ll be questionable for the start of training camp. Fabbri has done well to establish himself in Detroit and has been one of their more consistent secondary scorers. He has 30 points in 56 games this season and his performance was good enough for the team to give him a three-year, $12MM extension back in December.
McCann Gets Paid: Over the past few years, Kraken center Jared McCann had shown flashes of offensive upside but wasn’t able to put it together with any sort of consistency. The opportunity to play big minutes with regularity in Seattle has helped him to realize some of that potential and for that, he was rewarded with a five-year, $25MM extension. The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause in the last four seasons of the deal, the only ones eligible for trade protection as the first year of the contract is an RFA-eligible one. The 25-year-old leads Seattle in goals with 23 and is tied for the lead in points with 35 in 53 games this season.
Trade Candidate: Andrew Copp
The trade deadline is now just over a week away as we continue our look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and March 21st.
Andrew Copp has fairly quietly but steadily improved over the past several seasons and has worked his way up from being an energy player on the fourth line to a reliable checker to a quality two-way center that plays big minutes in all facets of the game. As a result, if Winnipeg decides that they’re going to sell, Copp will be one of the most sought-after players around the league in the days to come.
Contract
Copp is on a one-year, $3.64MM contract that was agreed on prior to his arbitration hearing in August and thus contains no form of trade protection. The deal is all salary and he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
2021-22
Copp has been somewhat of a Swiss army knife for Winnipeg this season. Injuries to Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers opened up spots on the wing that Copp filled at times. He has spent most of the year playing down the middle but even with a fully healthy lineup (including Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois at center), Copp has logged heavy minutes and is third among all Winnipeg forwards in ice time behind only Kyle Connor and Scheifele.
Unsurprisingly, the 27-year-old has seen plenty of action on special teams. He leads all Jets forwards in shorthanded ice time per game and plays almost the same amount of time on the power play, making him their only player to average at least 2:30 per contest in both situations.
The end result is that Copp is on pace to set career highs across the board (he’s already there in shots on goals). On top of that, he’s winning over 53% of his draws and we know how much teams value situational faceoff performance in the playoffs.
However, it’s worth noting that his production has tapered off a little bit as of late with five points in his last 16 games while half of his full-season point total came in the first 15 games of the year. That shouldn’t hurt his market too much but interested teams will be factoring that into their offers.
Season Stats
53 GP, 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points, even rating, 8 PIMS, 147 shots, 20:05 TOI, 52.9 CF%, 53.8% faceoffs
Potential Suitors
Basically, any contending team with some cap space will have interest in Copp if he’s made available. Winnipeg could retain to facilitate a deal although they’re close to being capped out so there may be a limitation to how much they can hold back or who they can take on to offset part of the contract.
In the East, the Bruins never really filled the hole created by David Krejci’s departure and have been looking to fill a top-six hole all season. Copp fits the bill on both ends and they have the cap space to afford him outright. So do the Rangers who could either slot him in on the wing in the top six or have him anchor a new-look third line that can take some pressure off the top lines. The Maple Leafs have been linked to some wingers and Copp would be a good complementary piece on the wing on their second line although making the money work would be a challenge with Jake Muzzin set to return later this season. The Capitals have been looking around at checking wingers and while Copp is rated a little higher, he’s someone they’d have interest in although again, the cap looms large on that front. The Panthers may covet Copp’s faceoff prowess to help offset Sam Bennett’s struggles on the draw if they aren’t able to add a significant piece on the back end.
Out West, the Wild stand out as a strong fit. They’re stuck shopping for expiring contracts with the buyout charges increasing next season for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter and could certainly use some improvements down the middle. The Avalanche have good depth at center already but could use Copp on the wing or in a shutdown capacity. It’d also be an opportunity to evaluate if he could be a serviceable replacement for Nazem Kadri if Kadri prices himself out of what Colorado can afford over the offseason. The Flames would have some cap challenges to overcome and would need to use him on the wing but he certainly fits Calgary’s playing style. If the Predators opt to try to make a bigger addition, Copp is someone that would fit in a role that’s similar to one he plays with Winnipeg, splitting time at center and the wing.
Likelihood Of A Trade
A lot will depend on how Winnipeg fares in this next week. If they can close the gap on a Wild Card spot, they may hold onto Copp in the hopes of sneaking into the postseason. However, if that doesn’t happen and a contract extension isn’t in the cards, there’s a very good chance that Copp will be on a different roster once the clock passes 2 PM CT on March 21st.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
PHR Mailbag: Sabres, Islanders, Husso, Jets, Samsonov, Detroit’s Defense, Pacific Predictions, Projections, Avalanche
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Ville Husso’s future with St. Louis, whether or not it’s time for Winnipeg to shake up their core, building up Detroit’s back end, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
@JoeBad34TD: Sabres: It’s time to move on from Mittelstadt, Miller, Eakin, and Olofsson. Miller and Eakin are vets that may get you some later picks. Mittelstadt and Olofsson are young but not the right fit for this team’s future. Do you see a trade market for these players and at what value?
I agree with you on the assessment of Cody Eakin and Colin Miller – both are candidates to be moved for draft picks so there’s really nothing more to say about those two.
As for the two younger players, I don’t think there’s a great market for Casey Mittelstadt right now. He has struggled since his rookie season and hasn’t been healthy all that much this year. With two more years left on his deal at $2.5MM per, Buffalo would be selling low if they moved him. They’re not in a position where they should be selling low so holding onto him is the smarter play from a valuation standpoint; it’s not as if his value can get much lower than it would be right now so why not hold onto him, make some moves to bolster the roster over the summer, and see how he fits in with the new-look team? Maybe there’s a better fit and if that doesn’t happen, maybe he produces a bit more to up his trade value.
Then there’s Victor Olofsson. I tend to agree that he’s not a great fit for Buffalo moving forward but again, they’re not exactly selling high on him either. He has struggled this year and has just 10 goals in 49 games with a $3.25MM qualifying offer looming large this summer. If they know that they don’t want to pay that, then it’s a case of taking what you can get now which might be a mid-round pick if the Sabres retain on the contract. If GM Kevyn Adams is leaning towards tendering that offer though, they might have a shot at a swap of underachieving wingers in the summer. It’s not going to be an overly exciting return, however.
Y2KAK: What are reasonable moves the Islanders make at the trade deadline?
While they won’t be able to get much for their rentals (headlined by winger Cal Clutterbuck), GM Lou Lamoriello would be wise to try to get a couple of draft picks through moving some of them. They haven’t had more than six selections over the last three years and only have five for this summer’s draft so getting closer to a full complement of picks would be a reasonable move.
I honestly don’t expect a whole lot more from them. This is a team that has been good enough to make some decent playoff runs lately so I think Lamoriello will look at this and feel that they could be back in the thick of things next season when they don’t have a massive road trip, get hit hard by positive COVID tests, and have a bunch of injuries. With that in mind, I don’t know how much he really wants to change things.
One move I could see them looking into is trading Semyon Varlamov. Ilya Sorokin is clearly their goalie of the present and while they want someone who will probably play a bit more than an average backup behind him, that player doesn’t need to cost $5MM like Varlamov does. He’s signed for next season and with the trade market being relatively thin in terms of impact goalies available, the 33-year-old could be a candidate to be moved. It might have to be in the summer but a deadline trade can’t be ruled out either.
bighiggy: With the emergence of Husso, do the Blues look to sign Husso so he doesn’t depart at the end of the season, and then try to trade Binnington? Or let Husso walk and hope Binnington plays better?
The Blues would like to keep Husso and in a perfect world, they find a way to keep both. Husso is a fascinating UFA case this summer. He’s having a great year (2.24 GAA, .928 SV% in 24 games) but he only has 41 career NHL appearances under his belt. Is that enough to land him top dollar on the open market? Probably not. But could he land something similar to Alex Nedeljkovic’s deal with Detroit – two years, $3MM AAV? That wouldn’t shock me.
Now with that estimate, can they afford to keep Husso? I think they can. If they opt to let David Perron walk in free agency and fill his spot with someone like Jake Neighbours who is still on his cheap entry-level deal, that might be enough of a shuffle in terms of allocating cap dollars to make it work if they go with low-cost pieces to round out the roster as they’re likely to do. If they don’t want to do that, then I suspect Husso would walk and Binnington would enter next season as the undisputed starter as if they can’t/won’t pay Husso in the $3MM range, they’re not getting someone that can push for the starting job for less than that. With Binnington’s struggles, it’s hard to see a viable scenario where he leaves and Husso becomes the starter.
selanne76: Should the Jets make a move to shake up their leadership group? If so, who goes where and what should be the return?
I have to admit, I really like Winnipeg’s core group. It’s a good mix of veterans and younger players and they’re all capable of scoring. Breaking that up is risky. But this core has been together for a while and hasn’t gotten it done in terms of playoff success and even getting to the postseason this year is going to be tough.
Personally, I’d give them one more opportunity next season. Andrew Copp probably won’t be back and if Paul Stastny departs as well, that gives the Jets some money to work with to reshape the bottom six. I’d like to see their depth improved as that has been an issue this year; going with low-cost players because they make the minimum or close to it makes the cap work but puts a lot of extra pressure on that top group.
I also could see a coaching change happening. With Paul Maurice leaving midseason, they were in a tough spot and elevating Dave Lowry to the interim role was the logical choice. But if they miss the playoffs, it’s an opportunity to bring a new voice and system in; perhaps that gives them the spark they were missing.
If they decided to make a change to really shake it up, my guess would be that Nikolaj Ehlers would be the one to go. It’s hard to move Mark Scheifele when they don’t have a sure-fire replacement in the system (I like Cole Perfetti as a winger more than a center from a long-term standpoint) and Pierre-Luc Dubois isn’t a true number one and might not have the trade value he did when Winnipeg got him with now two fewer years of team control. Blake Wheeler won’t bring back much with his age and contract and Kyle Connor isn’t going anywhere.
As for what Ehlers could bring back, it’d all depend on what they’d be doing. If they were doing a rebuild, a first-rounder and a top prospect would be the key elements of a return. If it’s a core shakeup, it’d be another top-six winger that’s signed or at least under team control for as long as Ehlers is signed for (through 2024-25).
2012orioles: Even if the Capitals move Samsonov, what value does he bring being an RFA after the season?
Not as much as you might think at first glance. When was the last time a goaltender was traded in a move that made anyone think ‘wow, that’s a big price to pay’? It doesn’t happen very often and with the year he’s having, he’s probably not going to buck the trend.
I think Ilya Samsonov can be a starter in the NHL or at least a 1A part of a platoon. He’s not going to be able to command that type of return with a save percentage that’s just above .900 though, nor is he going to be able to land the type of contract that’s commensurate with that level of a player (high-$3MM range for a 1A, considerably more for a starter) this summer. Another one-year, prove it type of deal is probably coming.
That actually hurts Samsonov’s trade value a little bit in my eyes. He has two years of team control left but a one-year deal this summer takes him to a spot where he can opt for arbitration next summer and head to unrestricted free agency in his prime. The Rangers will likely be moving Alexandar Georgiev for cap reasons this summer, another pending RFA who has had similar hot and cold spells in the NHL and that also doesn’t help Washington’s cause.
When I first saw this question, the word that immediately came to mind in terms of value was underwhelming. Regardless of whether it’s a futures-based trade or he’s moved for a veteran, any return for Samsonov (if he winds up being traded) is going to yield an underwhelming return.
Detroit_SP: How do the Red Wings address the left side of the defense? They have given up over 6 GAA in the recent stretch and it’s mostly due to left side deficiencies (Leddy, DeKeyser, etc.)
I don’t see a lot of top two D-men in FA that fit with the Red Wings timeline.
Can they swing for Chychrun without giving up Seider, Edvinsson, or Raymond? I imagine Berggren would be going the other way, as unfortunate as that would be. Combination involving him and then from Wallinder, Sebrango, McIsaac, Johannson, Mazur, picks? I’d prefer to avoid 2023 picks given the draft prowess projected.
Target a different defender with term remaining?
Let’s talk about Chychrun first. The asking price is extremely high and Arizona has no reason to trade him for anything less than a king’s ransom at this point. The price to be paid is going to hurt so no, a package headlined by a 2018 second-round pick in winger Jonatan Berggren isn’t going to work. I don’t think they’d need to move Moritz Seider or Lucas Raymond but I imagine the Coyotes would be insisting on Simon Edvinsson as part of the deal and then adding pieces (including Berggren potentially) from there.
I don’t think this is the right time for them to try to fill a top-two spot on the back end. Detroit isn’t about to jump from missing the playoffs for the sixth year in a row to a contender overnight. GM Steve Yzerman is all about building slowly so it stands to reason that the shift towards being a playoff-bound team is going to be gradual, not dramatic. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them give Edvinsson some NHL time next season (he’s signed with Frolunda but as he was a first-round pick, Detroit can supersede that contract).
Out of the pending free agents, Hampus Lindholm is one that would really fit well for the Red Wings if they wanted to make a big splash and while he’s not a big point-getter, he’s a legitimate top-pairing player. That’s why Anaheim wants to re-sign him and why the trade market for rental defenders is basically at a standstill at this point. I wouldn’t be shocked if Marc Staal returns either while another depth piece can be added as well through free agency.
Could Yzerman trade his way towards filling some of those holes? Sure. But why move those assets out in what will probably be a transitional year as they look to get back into the playoff picture? Add some pieces in free agency, get a little better, assess where things stand, and then use some picks and prospects as trade currency to add when they’re more ready to go for it. As a patient GM with both Tampa Bay and now Detroit, that’s the route I expect him to take.