What Will the Trade Deadline Bring for the Red Wings?

As Detroit heads into the international break, what will be on the Red Wings' minds heading into the trade deadline next month?

The arrival of the international break for the 4 Nations Face-Off leaves the NHL just shy of a month from the Trade Deadline (March 7th).  Now feels like an appropriate moment to consider what the Detroit Red Wings might aspire to at the deadline.

For most of the first half of the season, the Red Wings looked destined to fall on the "seller" end of the trade deadline spectrum.  Languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, it stood to reason that Detroit would entertain offers on expiring free agents like Patrick Kane and Alex Lyon or perhaps Christian Fischer and Tyler Motte.  Thanks to the triumph of the first six weeks of Todd McLellan's tenure with the team, thoughts of selling at the deadline are more or less by the wayside.

Instead, the Red Wings find themselves in a similar position to the one they occupied at this time a year ago heading into the deadline, as tentative buyers.  I say tentative, because realistically this is not a team with Stanley Cup championship ambitions at this moment in the trajectory of the rebuild.  It's that logic that led GM Steve Yzerman to chose to stand pat at last year's deadline, citing the prices for acquisitions as too rich compared to Detroit's internal organizational depth options.

In the featured video above, I lay out what my mindset would be were I in Yzerman's shoes for this deadline.  Specifically, I make the case that a depth defensive option could make some sense for Detroit, while I would be inclined to stay away from the forward market (with the possible exception of a long-term, i.e. non-rental, acquisition).

One complicating factor is the Red Wings' recently reported desire to find a new home for Vladimir Tarasenko.  If Detroit can find a trade partner there that believes it can rejuvenate Tarasenko in a new environment, I would have no reservations about making that deal.  However, I'd be reluctant to make a 'cap dump' mid-season trade, rather than waiting for something else (either a trade or even a buy-out) to resolve that situation over the summer.

Check out the video above for more on how I would handle the approaching deadline.

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