The Detroit Red Wings acted as a middle man Saturday in a three-way trade scenario that gained them a 4th-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Here’s what happened between Detroit, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning that landed defenseman David Savard in Tampa at a reduced salary:
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- The Red Wings traded defenseman Brian Lashoff to Columbus in exchange for Savard.
- The Blue Jackets then sent Lashoff to Tampa for a first-round pick in 2021 and a third-round pick in 2022.
- The Red Wings then completed the deal by sending Savard to Tampa for a 4th-round pick in 2021.
Detroit GM Steve Yzerman retained 25% of Savard’s salary while Columbus retained 50% of it. That allowed Tampa to make this deadline signing to bolster their blue line.
Here's the three-way trade between Tampa, Detroit and Columbus landing Savard in Tampa ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ZCVCpaogkR
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 10, 2021
That’s a smart move by Yzerman to gain yet another mid-round draft pick for this year.
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Here’s the updated list of Red Wings 2021 draft positions:
- 1st-round pick
- 2nd-round pick -- acquired from the Rangers in the Marc Staal deal
- 2nd-round pick -- acquired from the Oilers in the Andreas Athanasiou/Sam Gagner deal
- 2nd-round pick (yes, that’s three in the 2nd round)
- 3rd-round pick -- acquired from Vegas in the Tomas Tatar trade
- 3rd-round pick
- 4th-round pick
- 4th-round pick -- acquired in the three-way Savard deal
- 5th-round pick
- 6th-round pick
That looks pretty solid -- it’s what Yzerman has made clear he can’t get enough of: Assets. He’s willing to get creative to do it.
In this case, the Red Wings had the cap space available to help alleviate some of Savard’s $4 million salary for a cash-strapped Tampa team that wants to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning clearly have no appetite for draft picks as they’re giving them away at a high rate lately.
The Blue Jackets, now 7 points out of a playoff spot, wanted to get something for Savard as they prepare for a rebuild. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The 30-year-old was valued high enough to earn Columbus a 1st round pick this year and 3rd next year.
Meanwhile, Lashoff is the body that helped Yzerman act as the broker. Lashoff, also 30, is a full-time AHLer at this point in his career, playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. Apparently that’s where he will stay for now despite the trade, in Grand Rapids where he captains the team.
The trade deadline is 3 p.m. Monday, April 12.
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