Rumor: Is Holland poised to make another deal?

With six deals in the past nine months, the rebuild is on in Detroit.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Rumor: Is Holland poised to make another deal?
Keystone Press

In his latest article for The Hockey Writers, blogger Tony Wolak takes a close look at the Detroit Red Wings and attempts to debunk the myth that the team is hesitant to tear things down for a full rebuild.

Sure, the Wings still have veterans like Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and Niklas Kronwall playing big minutes, but with six meaningful trades over the past nine months, it’s clear that GM Ken Holland has the future in mind. Gone are Brendan Smith, Tomas Jurco, Steve Ott, Thomas Vanek, Riley Sheahan and Ryan Sproul. In their place are a slew of new draft picks and prospects that the team hopes can eventually pay dividends. 

So, with the Wings languishing at the bottom of the standings and the trade deadline approaching in February, who might Holland look to move next? 

The most likely candidate is defenseman Mike Green. The 32-year-old is scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace and is on an expiring contract. He’s a prime candidate to be moved, especially given the return that he could fetch. Don’t be surprised if a contending team decides to offer up a first round pick for a few months of his services.

How about another defenseman? Wolak specifically mentions Kronwall, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley as trade options. Could Holland swing multiple deals to clear off space on his blue line? Abdelkader and Darren Helm seem like obvious targets up front, but with their contracts extending past this offseason, they could be tougher to move.

Regardless of what happens, expect Holland and the Wings to be busy in advance of this year’s deadline.

Source: Tony Wolak