The NHL trade deadline is 3 p.m. Friday, and Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman already has had a busy week. We’ll be tracking and updating this story as news comes Friday.
Yzerman on Thursday traded Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins for a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2024 and a fourth-round pick in 2025. On Wednesday, Yzerman traded defenseman Filip Hronek and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for a top-12 protected first-round pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2023.
“I think we have a lot of faith in Steve and what he’s building,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “There’s a lot of faith in him. It’s a lot of draft picks he’s gotten, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they just become draft picks, they can be turned into players and other things. So I think there’s a longterm plan in place here and I think Steve is sticking to it.”
It hasn’t all been trades, though: Yzerman finalized an eight-year, $69.6 million deal for Dylan Larkin this week, and over the past month has extended defensemen Jake Walman (three years, $10.2 million) and Olli Määttä (two years, $6 million). All had been in the final years of their contracts.
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The trades follow the pattern Yzerman has shown in his nearly four years in charge of the Wings. With the team unlikely to make the playoffs, he has been a seller at the NHL’s annual late-season frenzy.
2020 deadline
In his first year, 2020, Yzerman traded veteran defenseman Mike Green and 30-goal scorer Andreas Athanasiou in separate deals to the Edmonton Oilers. The return on Green was only a fourth-round pick because Green was on an expiring contract and at the end of his career. The pick was used to draft goaltender Jan Bednar. The Athanasiou trade yielded forward Sam Gagner, who went on to be a character player and part-time alternate captain for the Wings; plus a 2020 second-round pick (then used to acquire different picks) and a 2021 second-round pick (used to acquire Nick Leddy).
2021 deadline
In 2021, Yzerman traded Anthony Mantha to the Washington Capitals for a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik. The first-round pick was used to move up in the 2021 draft to select goaltender Sebastian Cossa. Vrana initially looked like a terrific addition, scoring eight goals in the 11 games he played in what was left of the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. Injuries and an off-ice issue have since limited his availability. Mantha, however, has not performed to expectations with the Capitals, where has been a healthy scratch a handful of times this season.
2022 deadline
At last year’s deadline, Yzerman flipped Vladislav Namestnikov to the Dallas Stars for a fourth-round pick in 2024, and traded Leddy and Luke Witkowski to the St. Louis Blues for Walman, forward Oskar Sundqvist and a second-round pick in 2023.
Red Wings fans: Listen to this week’s episode of the “Carlos and Shawn” podcast, embedded above in this story. It features our Red Wings reporter Helene St. James, and examines the team’s recent losses and challenges during their playoff push. Catch “Carlos and Shawn” every Thursday morning at 5 and on demand on freep.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings tracker: Countdown to 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline
