We are just a couple of weeks out from the 2021 NHL trade deadline (April 12) and there has been plenty of speculation as to what trades Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman could make.
In a piece published in The Athletic on Friday, Max Bultman recreates two of Yzerman’s best trades from when he was GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
One of the trades would land the Red Wings with Ottawa Senators goalie Chris Driedger while the other would land them with Carolina Hurricanes defenseman, Jake Bean.
Here is some of what Bultman has to say about the potential trades. To read the full article (I highly suggest doing this because Bultman is amazing), please click here.
Trade No. 1:
The Lightning trade Cory Conacher to Ottawa for Ben Bishop, 2013
The 2021 equivalent: Robby Fabbri to Florida for Chris Driedger (with a contract extension)
Why it makes sense: The Red Wings need a goalie of the future, and the Panthers have an increasingly deep pipeline in net.
And the Lightning’s Bishop trade, in 2013, is the platonic ideal of flipping a young skater for a budding No. 1 in goal.
It’s not at all clear whether Driedger, who at age 26 has a .928 career save percentage in 29 games, can approach those heights. It’s not even clear what it would take for Florida to move him, considering he’s been by far their best netminder this season and the Panthers are in a playoff hunt. But he’s a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), and Florida has a $10 million starter in Sergei Bobrovsky, plus top goalie prospect Spencer Knight dominating at Boston College.
Trade No. 2:
The Lightning trade Jonathan Drouin to Montreal for Mikhail Sergachev, 2017
The 2021 equivalent: Tyler Bertuzzi to Carolina for Jake Bean
Why it makes sense: It’s a true hockey trade.
When Yzerman traded Drouin, a former third-overall pick, for Sergachev, he turned a high-scoring young forward into a reliable young two-way defenseman.
Yzerman has invested significant draft capital into rebuilding the Red Wings’ blue line since taking over as GM. He’s used the 2019 sixth-overall pick, three second-round picks and two third-rounders on defensemen, just in the course of two drafts.
Bean would be a little different, though. He’s a former first-round pick who, in Carolina, has been buried behind one of the NHL’s deepest blue lines. At 22, he’s finally broken through to average 14 minutes per game, notching 11 points in 22 games. But if the Hurricanes decide to trade from their blue-line riches to get stronger up front, Bean’s performance this season, combined with his pedigree, makes him an intriguing candidate. For Detroit, Bean would help bolster the blue line of the future with a young, NHL-ready player with upside still to reach.
Nation, which of these trades would you prefer?
Fabri has proven to be a keeper while neither Mantha or Bertuzzi has.