Blockbuster trade would land Detroit Red Wings with additional Top 10 pick

The 2021 NHL Draft is right around the corner and the question is, what will Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman decide to do with the No. 6 overall pick?

But what if Yzerman were to swing a trade where he actually acquired a second Top 10 selection?

In a piece published in the Athletic, Max Bultman proposes a “blockbuster” trade between the Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks that would send the No. 9 overall pick and Loui Eriksson to Detroit in exchange for the No. 23 pick.

Here is what Bultman has to say about how the trade would work. (To read Bultman’s full breakdown, please click here)

The precedents: In 2019, Toronto traded Patrick Marleau, a 2020 conditional first-round pick and 2020 seventh-round pick to Carolina for a 2020 sixth-round pick; In 2016, Arizona traded picks Nos. 20 and 53 and Joe Vitale to Detroit for pick No. 16, Pavel Datsyuk

The rationale: Finding an apt price for taking on Eriksson’s contract is the challenge in a deal like this.

One useful comparison is Patrick Marleau example from 2019, when the Maple Leafs gave up a first-round pick (top 10 protected and ultimately No. 13) in order to get Carolina to take Marleau’s contract off their hands. Another is a deal Red Wings fans should be plenty familiar with — the one that unloaded Pavel Datsyuk’s contract back in 2016 and cost Detroit the chance to pick Jakob Chychrun.

For the Red Wings, taking on Eriksson’s contract would be a big ask. And for the Canucks, so would coming off a top 10 pick. But if Vancouver decides it needs the cap space more, and is willing to move back into the early 20s, the potential reward of moving up for a second pick in the top 10 has blockbuster potential for the Red Wings.

Nation, who says no to this trade?