We’re now into our countdown of former Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland’s best trades during his time in the Motor City. For those of you who missed number five on the list, check out the details of the move that would turn into Jiri Hudler in the Winged Wheel:
No. 5: Acquiring 2nd round pick from Carolina (Jiri Hudler) for Aaron Ward
The countdown continues as we throw it back to the 2003-04 season, where the Red Wings were looking to re-capture the Stanley Cup after being unceremoniously swept in the previous year’s playoff as defending champions. Of course, these were the good old days when Detroit looked forward to the trade deadline as the day Detroit would acquire additional talent to better their chances of a long playoff run.
And that’s exactly what Holland was able to accomplish in February of 2004 by brining in the NHL leader in points.
Acquiring Robert Lang from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Tomas Fleischmann, a 2004 1st round draft pick (Mike Green) and a 2006 4th round pick (Luke Lynes)
Lang arrived in Detroit from Washington as the NHL’s leader in points at the Trade Deadline, and joined an already stacked team. Though a broken rib forced him to miss a handful of games shortly after his acquisition, he returned in time for the playoffs and recorded a career-high nine points in 12 playoff games.
He would go on to record 62 and 52 points for the Red Wings in the next two seasons for Detroit along with 14 playoff points.
Meanwhile, the trade would eventually come full circle, as the player selected with the draft pick Washington received (Mike Green) would eventually sign with the Red Wings in 2015.
