Shortly after yesterday's blog gets posted regarding the likelihood that Detroit will stand pat with their roster as the trade deadline nears, a Tweet from highly respected Windsor Star columnist
Bob Duff suggested Thrashers d-man
Zach Bogosian was available to the Red Wings in exchange for
Jiri Hudler,
Jonathan Ericsson OR
Jakub Kindl, along with a high draft pick.
It didn't take long for this rumor to get quashed by
Ken Holland. Via
Pierre LeBrun's twitter account, Holland informed LeBrun through text that he has never had a discussion with Atlanta regarding Bogosian and there was ZERO truth to Duff's rumor.
Now, it may have come as a surprise to many to hear about a Red Wing rumor prior to the trade deadline. It's well known through NHL circles that Detroit's management team led by Holland are arguably the most secretive team in the NHL when it comes to their discussions with other teams. As a result, it is why you rarely, if ever, hear of rumors of any actual merit involving Detroit through Eklund, myself or any of the other bloggers/mainstream media following the Red Wings.
Whereas some GM's enjoy using the media to create speculation and contribute to rumors in the hockey world, Detroit does not operate this way.
Yet, I still find it puzzling and somewhat interesting that of all people to come out with this rumor, it is an old school journalist such as Duff, highly respected throughout the hockey world. He's written several hockey books, is a well-known historian of the game of hockey and covers both the Detroit Red Wings and Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League through his opinion column for the Windsor Star.
Here are my thoughts on the whole ordeal:
First and foremost, never believe a word Holland says through the media when it comes to potential trades and/or player movement. Holland also said Detroit wasn't looking at any goaltending help when Chris Osgood went down with his sports hernia and less than a week later, they are signing Evgeni Nabokov to a free agent contract.
Yesterday, Holland also mentioned through the media that Detroit has no interest in putting a claim in for Ty Conklin. Now perhaps due to salary cap limitations, Detroit might be hamstrung and not able to pursue such an insurance policy. But even if they did have the room, the last thing Holland would come out and say is, "We will put in a claim for Conklin and see what happens." It's not his style. For what it's worth, I think Conklin gets claimed by a team before Detroit's spot on the waiver wire order.
Back to the trade speculation, the fewer teams that know Detroit is involved in a potential deal or looking into a specific player, the better off it will be for Holland to make that deal for a fair price and not overpay. As a result, when Holland comes out and states that there is ZERO truth to the rumor and he hasn't talked to Atlanta about the player in question, I become highly skeptical that this is the case.
Most importantly, Holland isn't doing his job if he didn't look into the asking price for Bogosian when all of the speculation regarding the 20-year old rearguard came to light a few weeks ago. It is no secret that Detroit's blueline situation is in need of an overhaul shortly with the likely retirement of
Nicklas Lidstrom this season or next, along with the contract of
Brian Rafalski coming to an end. Although Detroit has invested three first round picks to prepare for this eventual transition, with one in the prime years of his career (Niklas Kronwall) and two youngsters hopeful to emerge as regulars (Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith), you can never have enough solid defensemen on your roster.
Here's the rub. I'm certain Detroit inquired Rick Dudley, GM of the Thrashers what it would take to acquire Bogosian. Maybe Holland is telling us the truth....perhaps it was Jim Nill that held discussions with Atlanta. In all seriousness, Bogosian though remains an intriguing prospect, still a very raw defenseman but full of potential to be a top pairing guy for many years to come. There is a reason as to why he was the third overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft. Detroit has always placed a premium on having several well-paid, talented defensemen on their roster during Ken Holland's regime as GM. It's been well-documented that Detroit has had more success investing their dollars on their blueliners versus spending dollars on goaltending.
The likelihood is even greater that the suggestion of Hudler, Ericsson/Kindl and a high draft pick came from Detroit, not what Atlanta was asking for in return. Most observers appear to think Detroit would be getting the greater potential out of such a deal, in particular if Ericsson was involved and not Kindl. I truly believe Atlanta would have asked for a better forward than Hudler in return (likely Valteri Filppula), as well as insisting on either Kindl or Smith.
I get the sense there is more to this rumor than we are being led to believe by Ken Holland. I don't have ANY inside information on this. Call it a gut feeling. If it is not Bogosian by tomorrow, at some point over the course of the summer Detroit will be active in attempting to pursue a young blueliner to add to their group as further work is done to prepare for the absence of #5 from the Detroit blueline.
Just one man's opinion.
Enjoy Trade Deadline Day 2011!!! I'll be sure to provide my thoughts and analysis on any Wing related movement on Monday. If there are no moves made, I will examine what Detroit's top competitors in the Western Conference do to see how it will impact the race in the Central Division and top seed in the West.
[email protected] 
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»