Former Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock may not be coaching in Hockeytown anymore, but that isn’t stopping him from wanting one of his former players on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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According to TSN, the Leafs are reportedly interested in trading for forward Luke Glendening, who was a Babcock favorite during his time in Detroit. Glendening was also on Toronto’s radar last season, though no deal materialized.
Glendening has two years remaining on his contract at $1.8 million per year, and the Leafs already have tight cap space with the recent re-signing of forward Auston Matthews. They’ll also be trying to re-sign Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Par Lindholm this summer. The question would be whether or not Detroit would be able to retain any of Glendening’s salary in order to facilitate a deal.
In 58 games this year, Glendening has scored eight goals to go with 10 assists.
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The Filip Zadina experience is coming soon!
Detroit Red Wings general manager announced the news that many fans have been waiting for – first round draft pick Filip Zadina will be getting a look next month with the big club.
“We’re going to give Zadina a little bit of an opportunity in March. I want him or the young players to see what the NHL is all about, so as they head into the offseason [they know what they need to work on]. I think a young player can really improve in the gym between June and August,” Holland said.
It has been a bit of an adjustment for Zadina since coming to North America. He’s put up 11 goals and 22 points in 38 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s minor-league affiliate. He also had a less than stellar World Junior Championships, failing to score in five games (one assist) as the Czech Republic was unable to reach the medal round.