It’s been a minute since I’ve written on here, so let’s break that slump and answer the world’s biggest question: just what the hell will Detroit do at the trade deadline?
I’m a realist. I don’t think the Red Wings will reasonably come near a playoff spot unless they go on a tear of 2011-12 home streak proportions, and that’s not going to fix their abysmal play on the road. Boston is a far superior team, and Tampa Bay, Florida, and Toronto are just plain out of reach. That’s assuming the Atlantic Division will even win one of the wild card spots, with the usually-stacked Metro Division challenging.
That means Detroit will likely pursue a familiar strategy at the trade deadline on March 21: selling. And luckily enough for the Red Wings, they’re bringing plenty of chips to the table.
Nick Leddy, like most of these trade pieces, is on an expiring deal. At $5.5 million, his contract isn’t exactly cheap to take on, but Detroit will likely retain salary to make a deal more palatable for potential suitors. A proven playoff warrior who played top-pairing minutes in two back-to-back New York Islanders playoff runs, it’s almost certain Steve Yzerman will get plenty of calls on Leddy.
In July, Detroit traded a 2021 second round pick (No. 52 – F Aatu Raty) and a 50%-retained salary Richard Panik to the Isles. That pick had been acquired by the Red Wings from the Andreas Athanasiou trade in 2020. It’s almost certain that Yzerman will try to get a similar value out of Leddy considering his pedigree.
The question is who needs him the most, and who’s going to pay up.
Vegas Golden Knights
For some reason, I can’t help but think Vegas could use Leddy’s services. The Golden Knights are poised for a deep run with a stacked top six and solid goaltending in Robin Lehner. However, Vegas’s defense is rather shallow. Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo can lock down their pairings, and Alec Martinez should be a tank if he can come back from a nasty face cut soon enough. Add Brayden McNabb and you’ve got a pretty solid top four.
Outside of those three, Vegas lacks depth. Zach Whitecloud has shown flashes of brilliance but isn’t the kind of guy you want out there with the game on the line. Nicolas Hague and Dylan Coghlan look like solid young defenseman who could step into big roles soon, but I haven’t seen anything stellar from them. If one of the top four defensemen gets injured in the playoffs, which is likely in a deep run, Vegas doesn’t have anyone to replace them.
Enter Leddy.
Retaining Nick Leddy at half salary could give the Golden Knights the kind of depth defense they need to make a run. As Montreal showed last season, four defenseman can carry a team to victory. However, it was also their undoing. Once the defense fell apart against a nuts Lightning squad, it was goodnight and game over. Having a minute muncher like Leddy on the roster can only help Vegas win. With Reilly Smith and Mattias Janmark on expiring deals and plenty of cap gymnastics on the schedule this offseason, 2022 might be the Golden Knights’ best shot for a couple years.
Detroit could likely swap a half-retained Leddy for Vegas’s 2022 second-rounder, or the New York Rangers’ third-rounder and another pick or prospect. There’s a deep draft on the horizon, and Yzerman will likely try to get the most top-100 picks possible.
It’s a long shot, I think, but the Golden Knights could benefit from the kind of depth that Leddy provides. He’s proven. He’s reliable. Most importantly, he has been there. Vegas’s success has yet to yield a Stanley Cup, and GM Kelly McCrimmon and Co. want that changed. Leddy could be a difference maker.
Minnesota Wild
Anyone who saw the Winter Classic knows just how porous Minnesota’s defense is without Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon patrolling the blue line. And with the Wild’s success this season, it’s likely they’ll make a deal or two to chase a deep run.
With an aged Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, and Matt Dumba adding some skill to the mix, Minnesota’s defense can handle some heavy usage, but like Vegas, the Wild still need more depth. Jon Merrill can provide bottom-six defense but is a liability in high usage. Jordie Benn is mid at best. There’s no one reliable to step up and fill in the lineup.
Leddy could be that replacement. He can carry that shallow depth just like he and Moritz Seider have for the Red Wings. It also helps that he’s a local boy from Eden Prairie, a suburb of Minneapolis, and he’ll draw plenty of prideful eyes in a Wild uniform.
The key is getting Minnesota to pay up. They aren’t exactly locked into a run this season. Kirill the Thrill Kaprizov and the rest of the Wild’s top line is locked up for three seasons. The top four outside of Goligoski is locked up for another two, plus they’ve still got some cap space to wiggle in. Their window isn’t exactly closing just yet.
Detroit could get a second-rounder from Minnesota, who has their first six rounds of picks this year plus San Jose’s fifth-rounder. I don’t see many prospects being swapped since the Wild’s cupboard is thinner than a lot of teams.
Edmonton Oilers
Does Leddy want to play for the devil? Because with all the stigma around Evander Kane, personalityless Connor McDavid, and locker room cancer Duncan Keith, I doubt Leddy would want to be associated with that locker room.
However, Edmonton really needs to win a few series this year. You can’t have two of the best scorers in the world and perpetually choke — unless you’re the Oilers of course.
But I won’t go on a rant here. Let’s talk about where Leddy could fit in.
Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard are good defensemen, but they’ve been inconsistent all season. Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie together feels like a hated Maple Leafs convention, and neither has proven they can defend in the playoffs with any sort of consistency.
Keith and Kris Russell are both on IR, Oskar Klefbom is on LTIR, and it feels like Edmonton is scraping the bottom of the barrel right now. As for depth pieces, Philip Broberg and Markus Niemeläinen seem like solid futures but they’re far too inexperienced to be expected to shoulder huge defensive minutes in a playoff run. They’re the kind of young guns that you put out in sheltered offensive zone starts to generate a little scoring and weather middle six opponents.
Leddy, at half of his salary cap, could be the sturdy timber the Oilers need to brace their freefalling defense. He can play solid defensive minutes furnishing an offensive weapon like Bouchard (just watch how Leddy activates Seider), and he can provide depth to shore up the bottom pair.
Add all that to Kenny Holland’s tendency to sell the future for mid- to low-tier replacement players, and it seems like a recipe for success. Yzerman could easily fleece next year’s second-rounder or this year’s third. I would personally chase next year’s second, because Edmonton’s impending cap hell rivals the Red Wings in Holland’s prime spending five years ago. Rookies like Dylan Holloway and Raphael Lavoie seems their only way to manage next year’s books. All that means is a better pick for Detroit.
Big Tex Goes to College 
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