DETROIT, MICH — After acquiring defenseman Mike Green, and centerman Brad Richards, the Red Wings will need to make some moves to free up the logjam:
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Ken Holland said he'll have to make move, but better to operate from place of too much depth. Says will hang onto young guys.</p>— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) <a href=”https://twitter.com/HeleneStJames/status/616375981721305088″>July 1, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
So what does that mean? Who could be moved? There are a few names that we could all throw out there right now, but the real question is who is willing to make take on contracts for the sake of acquiring money?
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Four teams aren't even over the floor yet: Nashville, New Jersey, Anaheim, Arizona. Lots of money out there.</p>— James Mirtle (@mirtle) <a href=”https://twitter.com/mirtle/status/616408673661939712″>July 2, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
So who are some names that Detroit could potentially move?
Who are the easiest to move?
The obvious name in that list is Tomas Jurco. He’s still young, and comes at a cheap cap hit. Should the Red Wings try to move him first? Nope. I think the kid still has a lot of upside in his game. He’s been playing plug minutes under Mike Babcock, and has excelled under Jeff Blashill at the AHL level. I say hold onto him, and see if he actually turns into that Marian Hossa type player we’ve been waiting for. The quintessential answer to this would be players like Kindl, Smith, or Quincey. With Smith’s recent contract extension, I find him harder to be moved. He’s still a very serviceable defenseman with a bit of upside.. But his lack of production makes his contract pretty difficult to uproot.
Drew Miller could be moved, but I think his value as a 4th line grinder, who can give you elite PK abilities is something the Red Wings aren’t willing to part with as of right now.
Joakim Andersson might be a guy you can move, but if you’re going to entertain that option and go through the grief of shopping a lackluster 13th forward who makes $815k per year, just put him on waivers.
What about Jakub Kindl? Well, we all know the story here. He makes $2.5 million, is a fringe bottom-four offensive defenseman, and tends to be a disaster in his own zone. Maybe Detroit can get him moved, but if the stipulation is retaining some of his salary, or taking on another player, then the answer is no.
Last but not least, we have Kyle Quincey. This is an interesting case. He had a great season in 2014-2015. While he didn’t produce staggering offensive numbers, he was an impact player paired next to Danny DeKeyser. The problem is that now Detroit has acquired defenseman Mike Green, Quincey will get bumped down to the third pair, where Brendan Smith roams, and we all know what that pairing looks like. Kyle Quincey makes $4.25 million, and is an unrestricted free agent next summer. For a team like Arizona, Anaheim, or New Jersey, this could be a great opportunity to acquire a solid defenseman while helping their team reach the cap floor.
You’ll notice that I did not include names like Jonathan Ericsson. I think the reasoning behind that is obvious. The odds that a team wants to add his atrocious contract that pays him $4.25 million through 2020 are slim-and-none. Plus, he’s just not that good. Maybe he flourishes in a padded role on the bottom-four, but that isn’t exactly the way you want to sell a player.
When it comes down to it, Ken Holland said that he’ll have to make a move. After acquiring both Mike Green, and Brad Richards in free agency, that’s apparent. There are a handful of options for the Red Wings, all of which don’t hurt the team in the big picture.
Who should it be?
| Joakim Andersson | 492 |
| Tomas Jurco | 152 |
| Brendan Smith | 492 |
| Kyle Quincey | 1455 |
| Drew Miller | 80 |
| Jakub Kindl | 1615 |
| Other | 500 |
