With the 29th overall pick, the Detroit Red Wings choose to trade their only first round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In return, they got the 32nd overall pick and the 75th overall pick (third round). The Lightning used their upgraded pick to take Carter Ashton.
For those of us in the U.S. and without NHL Network, it means we won’t see GM Ken Holland or Assistant GM Jim Nill name the Wings’ first pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on TV [Update: Thanks to Doug for letting us known you can watch Day 2 on NHL.com. Just click on Video and then Livewire.]. As frustrating as it may be as a Wings fan to watch the entire first round draft only to see your team opt to start it’s day on Saturday, the trade makes sense.
- The Wings traded down three picks, figuring that one of their top guys would still be available. [Update: Bruce MacLeod, a beat reporter for The Macomb Daily, tweeted just this: “Jim Nill said that they had ‘about 5 names’ still on their list at the 29th pick. ‘We knew we’d get a guy we wanted and add a 3rd-rd pick.'”]
- By picking up the extra pick, it makes up for the fact they were lacking a fourth round selection due to the Brad Stuart trade that went down before the 2008 trade deadline.
- It didn’t appear like there was a particular player who didn’t go especially early that would be a great fit for the Wings so it’s not like they were going to find a steal.
- While Nick Leddy was selected by Minnesota with No. 16 (I had Detroit picking him for our SBN mock draft), Carl Klingberg and Joonas Nattinen are still available. I would guess that the Wings go with one of those guys, but that’s just my opinion.
The second day of the draft kicks off at 10 a.m. and you can catch it on NHL Network. We’ll do our best to keep you updated with the Wings picks here at Winging It In Motown as their selections become available. Feel free to comment on what goes down in the comment section below.
Until tomorrow morning, you can check out TSN’s coverage and the SBN NHL Draft hub for the latest information!
