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Fleury Of Trades Shape Detroit's Rebuild (Part 1)

Fleury Of Trades Shape Detroit's Rebuild (Part 1)

By Tyler Hetherington

At the end of the FNHL Entry Draft this past offseason. Detroit GM Tyler Hetherington stated the draft was step one in a long rebuild. At the time there was no confirmation on the direction of the team. But him saying that pretty much confirmed where they were heading. Which was a complete tear it down type of rebuild. Since the draft. The Red Wings have been one of the busiest teams in the FNHL. Completing fourteen trades. 14! Fourteen trades that included 55 assets moved in or out. 42 players, 12 draft picks and some cash were involved in all the movement.

"Honestly this offseason was tough personally. It's not easy to move guys who will one day have their banner raised into the rafters as we retire their numbers. It's not easy to move guys who have been here since I was hired back over five years ago. It wasn't an easy offseason making calls to these guys. But we were very upfront with our players about the future direction of this team. We had to do what was right for the organization as a whole. We believe every deal we made this offseason will help our teams rebuild and future." stated GM Hetherington just before the beginning of the regular season.

Let's take a look at the first seven trades made this offseason by GM Hetherington;

1/24/2020 Calgary Flames send Dmitri Kulikov, Mike Condon to the Detroit Red Wings for Jonas Brodin

The Red Wings started with a bang post draft. Brodin at 27 years of age isn't an ageing defenceman by any means. But Detroit was able to land a replacement dman in the 30-year-old Kulikov but the big add was Mike Condon. Who at only 21 years of age has potential #1 netminder type status in his future. He's almost pro ready now. But will most likely spend a season or two in the minors getting a ton of ice time. Then hopefully move into the backup role behind Cam Talbot and push for that #1 spot in the future. 

2/3/2020 Vancouver Canucks send Givani Smith to the Detroit Red Wings for Patrick McNally

This was simply a positional need type of trade that also added some youth. The Detroit defensive prospect depth is pretty full. So they traded McNally who's almost ready for a pro shot for a prospect forward that is 6 years younger and is in a high positional need on the Detroit depth chart. Anytime you can add a 20-year-old with some promise for a 26-year-old tweener, its a win in a rebuild.

2/11/2020 Vancouver Canucks send Darnell Nurse to the Detroit Red Wings for Jakob Chychrun

This deal was a bit of a shocker. Nurse is 3 years older then Chychrun so that would seem to defeat the usual concept of rebuilding. But Nurse is still only 24 years old and is a top pairing dman right now. Also, Nurse fits into the Red Wings Petan, Fiala, Talbot type of age group so it's a big add. Getting a top pairing dman for many years to come was too enticing to wait it out and see how Chychrun develops. Again Detroit is deep with defensive prospects so this move made sense in the end.

2/14/2020 Detroit Red Wings send Gilbert Brule to the Florida Panthers for Kyle Connor, FLA 2029 Rnd 3

It might not seem like it on the surface. But this is one of the biggest deals in Tyler Hetherington's tenure as Detroit's General Manager. Not just the return which we'll get to in a second. But Gilbert Brule is a future hall of famer and was the team's captain. He'll probably have his number retired one day in Detroit. He's 2nd in franchise history for games played, goals scored, assists and points. Behind Fredrik Sjostrom, he's the best Detroit Red Wing in FNHL history. 13+ years in the organization. A player GM Hetherington refused to move since he took over the team. Team management sat down with Brule this offseason to talk about his and the team's future. With him being a UFA at seasons end, everyone agreed it was time to do what's best for the player and the team. Now for the return; Kyle Connor is a 23-year-old winger who has produced decently for a youngster the last two years. But is still trying to find his groove as a true top sixer in the league. Add onto him a third-round pick in 2029. Kinda seems anti-climatic and a bit unfair to Kyle for what he has to live up too in the shadow of being traded for a legend almost straight up. But Connor will be given every chance to succeed with a top-six role this year and for years to come here in Detroit. End of an era in Detroit.

2/14/2020 Detroit Red Wings send Tyson Jost, DET 2026 Rnd 2 to the Buffalo Sabres for Cory Conacher

Another trade that had people questioning the rebuild a bit. Tyson Jost a 21-year-old forward who's maybe one season away from being pro-ready was traded to Buffalo for 26-year-old Cory Conacher. Cory, however, has been a consistent 50-60 point-scorer over the last 6 season which is impressive. This trade filled a hole on the right side that was desperately needed. The Red Wings core right now is arguably led by Nicolas Petan as the number one center and Kevin Fiala as the team's number one left-wing. Before this trade that number one right-wing spot was pretty much vacant. So the Red Wings went out and got a consistent scorer who still has some prime years left. At 26 years old he's a bit older but fits the Petan, Fiala, Talbot age bracket too. So seems like a great get for Detroit and Cory. Who now lands in a permanent top-line spot and can maybe breakthrough that 61 career-best point barrier.

2/14/2020 Ottawa Senators send Lukas Kaspar, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, OTT 2025 Rnd 1 to the Detroit Red Wings for Viktor Stalberg, Alex Lintuniemi

Classic rebuild type of trade. Stalberg a speedy and extremely effective forward if used right for a replacement winger who's older and a bit of a downgrade, a prospect and a first-round draft pick. Classic rebuild type of move. Lukas is still an effective player in the FNHL but doesn't fit the team's direction at all, but Ottawa needed to send the salary back to Detroit. Expect Kaspar to be put on the trade block immediately after this deal. The prize here is the Ottawa first-round draft pick in the upcoming draft. Anderson-Dolan is a decent prospect at 20 years old. But is more of a youthful depth piece at this time. Add in whatever Detroit can get for Kaspar and this is a decent haul for second-line winger in Stalberg.

2/14/2020 San Jose Sharks send Jared Aulin, Josh Norris to the Detroit Red Wings for Kyle Turris

Another huge move as Detroit moved out a top-line player in Kyle Turris. I wouldn't call his one year as a Red Wing as a total bust. He did produce 63 points in 82 games last season. But I believe management expected more out of him. With the team rebuilding it was clear he was a one and done in Detroit. In return, the Red Wings actually got a potential future hall of famer. Which sounds amazing if you are a rebuilding team. This guy could be a hall of famer one day. But that one day might be in a few years. Aulin has had an amazing career amassing 1136 points in 1447 games played. He currently ranks 22nd all-time in league points. He's just not the same player he once was. He's 39 and probably playing his last year. You'd think he'd be another "flip" candidate for Detroit. But don't be too sure. Management sat down with Aulin shortly after the trade and told him he won't be on the trade block for some time. They want him to come in and lead by example for all the youth around the Detroit organization. He is an important piece for Detroit on and off the ice. The key add on this trade though is still Josh Norris. Only 19 years old and is an extremely promising prospect. He will most likely play top-line minutes on the farm this year and challenge for a pro roster spot as early as next year.

Check back very soon for part two of this article reviewing all the wild offseason moves out of Detroit. One of the most memorable offseasons for one team in FNHL history.

3/29/2020 - 1411 words


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