In their second move of the day, the Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman and a second round pick to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations
In their second move of the day, the Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman and a second round pick to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations
After trading a prospect for futures early Tuesday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings remained busy with a shocker involving an NHL player later in the afternoon.
And by the looks of it, Detroit is just getting started.
The Red Wings traded defenseman Jake Walman and a second round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for future considerations. The second round pick, originally a Tampa Bay pick, was acquired in Detroit's first trade of the afternoon involving prospect Andrew Gibson.
Walman, 28, is entering the second year of his three-year, $3.4 million dollar extension he signed in 2023. That contract came with a modified no-move clause. Walman finished a career year in his second full season with the Red Wings, notching 21 points in 63 games while playing the majority of his season on the first pairing alongside Moritz Seider. That pairing notably faced some of the toughest minutes among NHL top pairings.
As much as Walman was a staple of Detroit's blue line last season, his future with it was questionable. During his late-season injury absence, rookie defenseman Simon Edvinsson showed growth in his defensive game that caused Walman to slide down the depth chart. By the time he was healthy enough to return, he had slid to the third pairing. The Red Wings had surplus value in Walman, and they moved him.
What Detroit gets in return is the biggest question with this trade. Walman alone is enough of an asset for most teams to cut a deal for some sort of asset, even if his $3.4 million contract isn't cheap. But this deal doesn't fall in line with other traditional cap dump trades. Adding a pick to the trade for the favor of future considerations suggests that the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman might have larger aspirations on the trade floor. In other words, there's another move likely to come.
What will Detroit's next move be? It's hard to say, but there are a number of big-time players on the trade block such as wingers Mitch Marner and Martin Necas, as well as goaltenders Juuse Saros and John Gibson. Additionally, Yzerman's own UFAs of Patrick Kane, Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron might also be more plausible to keep with extra cap space.
If Yzerman plans to grab a premium player, perhaps San Jose would be involved in some way. The Sharks cannot retain salary as they've filled their three available retention slots, but they do have cap space to offload another contract. If Detroit takes on a trade partner's bad contract and moves it to San Jose, that could lower the cost to trade for another player.
It's unclear what the next move exactly is, but Yzerman has invested the type of assets to make another move.
And as Yzerman and Detroit prime for the next move, the magnitude might only increase.
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