It was the day of the year that all Red Wings fans would look forward to on the calendar.
Trade Deadline day was something special around here – a chance for the Detroit Red Wings to land even more weapons to further boost their chances of once again drinking out of the Stanley Cup come June.
The 2008 acquisition of defenseman Brad Stuart helped solidify the blue line en route to another championship season.
Even in more recent years, the Red Wings would trade off young prospects in return for veteran players in hopes of continuing the playoff streak, though plenty question the long-term usefulness of those moves.
Unfortunately, the team is in a full-scale rebuild, and it will likely be several years before they’re once again in a position to reload at the deadline, rather than unload.
Defenseman Mike Green is already on the move, being acquired by former GM Ken Holland who now runs the Edmonton Oilers. Speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou could soon be next.
“I personally look at it as a wakeup call,” forward Dylan Larkin said of learning they were scratched prior to last night’s game. “Those are two pretty good players that are potentially being traded, and you don’t want to see that.”
The Trade Deadline is this afternoon at 3:00 PM EST.
– – Quotes via Ansar Khan of MLive Link– –
