Trade Deadline Hits: No Moves for Detroit

The trade deadline came and went and the only move the Detroit Red Wings made was making the signing of college goaltender Jared Coreau official. Not really news, as this was reported a while ago and was more or less a technicality.

Overall, I'm not surprised. There were only two moves that I wanted to see the Wings make:

1) Trading for Jay Bouwmeester who I think is a legit top two defender.

2) Trading away Ian White

So, why didn't these two things happen? Let's take a look:

Jay Bouwmeester

The trade for Bouwmeester didn't happen because the Wings didn't want to trade a first round pick. That's understandable since last year they traded their pick for Kyle Quincey, which has so far been a major bust. In the salary cap era, it's essential to have contributions from young players on small contracts. The problem? The Wings simply aren't good with first round picks. Since 2005, Detroit's first round picks have been Jakub Kindl, Brendan Smith, Thomas McCollum, and Riley Sheahan. Now, that's a small sample size since Detroit always trades away their first round picks. But of that group, only Smith looks worthy of being a first round pick. The jury is still out on Sheahan, but I'd be stunned if he becomes anything more than a 3rd line center in the NHL. But, if the Wings want that pick, fine by me. I like Bouwmeester's game for a puck possession team, but finding a top right-handed defender would be much more ideal if that can happen as the Wings retool.

Ian White

The Wings have 9 defensemen: Kronwall, Ericsson, Colaiacovo, Quincey, Smith, Kindl, White, DeKeyser, and Lashoff. Among those players, only Ian White shoots right. That's crazy. That alone may be why Ken Holland kept White around instead of flipping him for a late pick.

When everybody is healthy, I'm not sure there's a roster spot for White. The kids (Smith, Lashoff, DeKeyser) can't improve if they don't play. Kronwall and Ericsson are locks to play. I'm sure Colaiacovo will be good enough to warrant playing. I'm not sure where White slots in, but apparently Holland sees him as more valuable on the team than flipped.

I'm also assuming he could have at least gotten a 5th round pick for the guy, but maybe there was no market.

The Bottom Line

Unless the Wings draw Minnesota or Anaheim in the first round, they're likely not winning a playoff series this spring. Thus, they're in a state of flux. They're retooling. They need to add youth. Holland valued his first round pick more than Jay Bouwmeester. In the end, I'm okay with that as long as they stick to the plan - which means some roster turnover this summer as the Wings have too many veteran bodies on the team to retool with you. But that's another blog for another time.