Red Wings give up valuable prospect in Perlini trade

On Monday, the Detroit Red Wings shook things up after losing an eight straight game. They acquired forward Brendan Perlini from the Chicago Blackhawks in return for promising blueliner Alec Regula.

Perlini was the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft, selected by the Arizona Coyotes 3 spots ahead of none other than Dylan Larkin. The Guildford, England native has scored 45 goals and amassed 72 points over the course of his 200 game career so far. 

He reached the 30-point plateau in 2017-18 with the Coyotes, scoring 17 goals in the process. The very next year, he was traded to Chicago after getting only 2 points in the first 22 games of the season. He then netted 12 goals and added 3 assists in 46 games in Chicago. This season, he featured in only one game for Chicago. Frustrated with his lack of ice time, his request for a trade was granted.

Perlini has not yet reached the offensive production that is expected of him, but there is no doubt that he is a promising goal scorer. Needless to say that the Detroit Red Wings are in need of some consistent goal scoring. The big winger might just be exactly what the Wings need, but he certainly did not come free.

The Blackhawks got Alec Regula in return for Perlini. Regula was slected by the Wings in the third round of the 2018 draft. The 19 year old defenseman has shown steady growth over the past few seasons, playing with the OHL's London Knights. His offensive numbers went from 7 goals and 25 points over 67 games in 2017-18 to 11 goals and 39 points in 66 games the following year. This season, in just 10 games, Regula has 4 goals and 11 points.

It appears that the right-handed, West Bloomfield, Michigan native is enjoying a major breakout year in junior hockey. With Mike Green coming toward the end of a great career, Regula could have soon been a great addition to a rebuilding defence joining the likes of Cholowski, Filip Hronek and eventually, Moritz Seider.

It is understood that the Wings needed to boost their offense, especially considering their lack of depth and the injuries to veterans Justin Abdelkader and Luke Glendening. That being said, Detroit is quite clearly a rebuilding team. 

The imminent arrival of Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno, Michael Rasmussen and Moritz Seider in the team means that Detroit already has a good prospect pool. Wings fans could however wonder whether it is wise to sacrifice a young, promising player in order take a gamble on an underachieving player and on a quick fix, especially when trading a player born and raised in the Detroit area.