DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have traded a 4th-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Adam Erne.
The teams announced the trade Wednesday. The Red Wings will send over their 4th-round pick in next year's draft for Erne, who is a 24-year-old winger drafted by Tampa at 33rd overall in 2013.
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Erne played 65 games with the Bolts this past season, scoring 7 goals and 13 assists. Erne is a restricted free agent right now after a one-year deal with Tampa expired this summer, according to CapFriendly. That means Detroit can decide his future as we gear up for training camp next month.
This appears to be a move for more size up front for the Red Wings -- Erne is listed at 6-foot-1, 214 pounds. He was averaging 3rd- and 4th-line minutes this past season on that stacked Tampa roster.
Obviously, Steve Yzerman sees something in this player that he drafted as Tampa GM. Erne was in the Tampa system for six seasons, first with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch before being called up in 2017. He found himself a more permanent spot in the lineup this past season.
As we've been saying since April 19, "in Yzerman we trust." Let's see what this move turns into.