Word is just coming across this afternoon that the Florida Panthers have acquired Detroit Red Wings‘ defenseman Jakub Kindl in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2017. Detroit will retain 15% ($360,000) salary on Kindl’s contract.
#RedWings deal Kindl to Florida. Get back 6th round pick in 2017 and retain 15 percent of salary.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) February 27, 2016
During his time in Detroit, Kindl was productive offensively, but often much maligned for his in-zone defensive play. For every incredible play like this:
…it always felt like one of these followed.
I don’t blame another team for taking a flyer on Kindl. His underlying numbers don’t look bad as he has a 54.1% 5v5 score-adjusted CF% and averages 0.77 points/60 at 5v5. However, whether correct or incorrect, Kindl’s glaring mistakes outweigh his added benefit in eyes of Red Wings fans. Where this manifests is in the chances that occur when Kindl is on the ice. Over his career, the Wings allow 9.73 5v5 high-danger scoring chances against/60 minutes, worse than Brendan Smith, Alexey Marchenko, Xavier Ouellet, Danny DeKeyser, and Kyle Quincey. The consistent stream of chances against led him to his place in either Mike Babcock’s or Jeff Blashill’s doghouse. I wish him the best and hope he finds success in Florida.
From Detroit’s angle, this is an excellent move by Holland to obtain another draft pick even though he did have to retain some salary. Adding a pick is a great start and shedding some of Kindl’s contract will be beneficial as the Wings try and navigate their way through cap hell the next few seasons. Ultimately, Wings fans should be pleased with getting anything in return for a player who has been sitting in the minor leagues. I believe that this is a win for Detroit, a potential win for Florida, and a win for Kindl. EVERYONE’S HAPPY.
