DETROIT – As we enter the final weekend before the NHL trade deadline on Monday, the Detroit Red Wings are expected to make another move.
Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland started the week by selling off one of his goalies, Petr Mrazek. He followed up with a news conference proclaiming he is, in fact, "open for business."
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The trade rumors have been swirling around the Red Wings for weeks, and even more so as the team falls further and further out of playoff contention. Defenseman Mike Green's name has made many lists, and so has Tomas Tatar.
SportsNet's Elliotte Friedman had this to say about Tatar and Gustav Nyquist:
"At times, the Red Wings have shown an inclination to move Gustav Nyquist or Tomas Tatar, but not both.
We’ll see where it goes, but while Nashville has shown interest in Tatar, there may be others who like Nyqvist better because he’s got one year remaining as opposed to Tatar’s two.
Nyquist controls more of his future at this time with a no-trade, while Tatar’s doesn’t kick in until July 1."
This makes sense as the Red Wings appear to have a decent batch of young forwards already contributing to the lineup including Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Martin Frk, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi. Moving Tatar and Nyquist would have to happen sooner than later if Holland wants to clear space for another round of younger offensive threats.
TSN's Darren Dreger also reported the Nashville Predators may be interested in acquiring Tatar from Detroit. That was days ago when the Red Wings visited Nashville, where Tatar scored a goal.
The Red Wings have two games this weekend:
- 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Carolina Hurricanes in Detroit
- 7 p.m. Sunday vs. New York Rangers in New York
The trade rumors will be louder than ever as Coach Jeff Blashill tries to keep his team focused on the ice.