The Calgary Flames are in a selling mode after trading Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Various reports have quoted Jay Bouwmeester as having discussions with management about possibly being trades (he's got a no trade clause).
Meanwhile, Bob McKenzie has reported that the Wings continue to chase J-Bo. As they should.
Even tho STL added Leopold, my sense is Blues are still keen to add another D. STL and DET continue to chase CGY's Jay Bouwmeester.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 1, 2013
Why? Well, right now Detroit has 9 defensemen. That's crazy. However, besides Kronwall (who's struggled defensively this season), none are top pairing guys. Ericsson, Colaiacovo (if he can stay healthy), Quincey, and White are all guys best suited for the second or third pairing and not matching up against a team's best line. Smith, Lashoff, and DeKeyser are all developing players who shouldn't have top four minutes at this point. And none project to be top pairing guys - good second pairing guys instead. Kindl is a bit of an enigma. Before this season, I'd have said he's a 6/7 guy. However he's played well this year and might be a 4/5 guy and a second pairing player.
So, let's go back to J-Bo. Nope, he's absolutely positively not a replacement for Nick Lidstrom. No, he's not the equivalent of Ryan Suter who the Wings pursued hard this summer and who in my mind should win the Norris this year. But, J-Bo is a very legitimate top-pairing shut-down defender.
If you take a look and understand the stats at behindthenet.ca, it's easy to see that Jay Bouwmeester faces top competition every night. He also starts in the defensive zone 59.4% of the time and finishes in it only 50.9% of the time. That means he's a terrific possession player and succeeds at getting the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone. Also if you read this fantastic article by Steve Burtch of Pension Plan Puppets, you'll see that Bouwmeester is among the top forty in the NHL among defensemen at limiting shots. The Wings currently don't have any of the top forty players. Check out the spreadsheet he assembled if those kinds of advanced stats interest you.
Ok to anyone wanting to look at all 6 seasons of SDI data here's the link to the spreadsheet: dropbox.com/s/279fyv3jkqfu…
— Stephen Burtch (@SteveBurtch) April 1, 2013
Now, Bouwmeester won't provide a ton of offense. But Kronwall, his likely partner if the trade is made, does. And Smith should continue to develop offensively. The bottom line is the guy is a top pairing defender, much less the top four guy that Ken Holland has said he'll look for this deadline.
What do the Wings give up for him? Well, in the above article it's stated it won't be this year's first round pick. That's probably hard for Calgary to swallow. But, per Roger Millions (Calgary beat writer) the Flames would likely want a D. Well, Detroit has plenty of those.
#Wings would not have to. Yet, I believe #Flames would need a defenceman back from Detroit as part of any deal.
— Roger Millions (@RogMillions) April 1, 2013
So, which D? Well, let's assume Kronwall, Lashoff, Smith, and DeKeyser are untouchables. Colaiacovo has played two games this year... nobody is taking him. Quincey is injured though he's scheduled to return Thursday. Holland won't move Ericsson, and he's got a limited no-trade clause anyway. Ian White is a UFA and thus not anything more than a rental. So, that leaves Kindl.
Kindl's been a pleasant surprise this year, but hasn't found consistency and still isn't more than a second pairing, second power play unit guy. He's not enough.
The Wings would likely have to deal one of Nyquist or Tatar in this deal as well. That sucks, as those guys should be top six forwards for years to come. But Babcock refuses to use either correctly as he doesn't trust them defensively so they're not getting the minutes and quality linemates they need with the Wings. With Jarnkrok, Jurco, Frk, and Pulkkinen in the system, I'm okay with the Wings trading one of those guys for Bouwmeester.
Kindl and Nyquist/Tatar is a good package. We'd probably have to throw in a second round pick and maybe a third.
And hey, we could get those draft picks back by dealing Ian White as a rental... giving us 8 D. Just saying.
Anyway, that's where I'm at: 2nd, Kindl, Nyquist/Tatar, and a 3rd if necessary for Bouwmeester.
Sure, it'll create a cap problem, but I think that can be fixed easily enough this summer with trades and buyouts.
Apparently St. Louis was paying attention, as they acquired J-Bo for a 1st and two average at best prospects.
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