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What happens to Detroit's blueline if Suter snubs the Winged Wheel?

June 29, 2012, 5:07 PM ET [75 Comments]
Mark Spizzirri
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
With the beginning of free agency on July 1st on the horizon, most Red Wing fans are resting their hopes on Ken Holland and the rest of the Red Wing management group being able to secure the rights of defenseman Ryan Suter of the Nashville Predators to smooth the transition of life in Detroit, A.N. (after Nick).

Although Lidstrom may not have been at the same level he once was during his final season, he still led all Red Wing defenseman in time on ice/game during both the regular season and playoffs. The bottom line remains the Wings are looking for a d-man that can log significant minutes in all types of situations.

Heading into this weekend, this is what the current blueline depth chart looks like for the Red Wings:

????? - Kronwall
Ericsson - White
Smith - Quincey
Kindl

It goes without saying that Suter appears to be the obvious choice for Red Wing fans to fill that top pairing spot and rightfully so. However, there is still the slim possibility he doesn't even make it to the free agent market on July 1st. If he does test the free agent waters, there are several teams that will be clamoring for his services. Detroit does have the added bonus of having plenty of cap space to make a significant offer, in addition to a winning environment and a competitive hockey club.

Realistically, I believe Detroit is the leader in the race to acquire Suter’s signature. But for argument's sake, let's say Suter politely declines the advances of the Winged Wheel and decides to play elsewhere. Where does that leave the Red Wings in terms of attempting to patch up that gaping hole on the blueline?

Whereas the Red Wings may opt to allow their younger defensemen an opportunity to replace and fill the role Brad Stuart occupied as a Red Wing, Detroit fully expects to acquire a top pair defenseman to take over Lidstrom's role.

Now, while a player such as a Jason Garrison has been linked to Detroit as a possible back-up plan if Suter should choose to play elsewhere and is coming off a strong season, he just does not seem to be the type of rearguard the Red Wings would break the bank to acquire following only one strong campaign in the league. He has played 22+ minutes per night the past two seasons with Florida and broke out offensively last season with 16 goals from the point. Yet to make him the highest paid blueliner on the club just does not seem to be something Detroit would do and it appears that would need to be the case in order to sign him.

So what would that leave the Red Wings with? Worse case scenario, they go with their six current rearguards and hope youngsters such as Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl can accelerate their development and reach the first-round potential. In all likelihood though, the Wings know they need to take advantage of having Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the prime of their careers. The Wings have likely considered and discussed several possible trade options post July 1st, something Holland has been adamant he would much rather avoid as he prefers adding players to his team, instead of trading assets to acquire a possible piece to the puzzle.

Here are a couple of possible trade options Detroit MAY explore if Suter chooses not to wear the Winged Wheel:


Keith Yandle, Phoenix - 27 years of age, 4 years remaining at $5.25 million cap hit

I was a bit stunned to hear his name pop up last week before the draft as possibly being involved in trade discussions. After all, he just signed his 5 year contract extension with the Coyotes a year ago in July 2011.

But taking a closer look at the situation in Phoenix, perhaps where there is smoke, there is fire. Although no Phoenix player received more ice time than Yandle’s 22:20 per game in the regular season, three other defencemen got more icetime than Yandle during the playoffs. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the top guy with more than 25 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Yandle was at 21:27, also behind Derek Morris and Michal Rozsival.
Yandle’s ice was impacted by the coach not using him to kill penalties.

There is no questioning Yandle's skating and offensive abilities, as he has posted 40+ points the past three seasons. But there are still some lingering questions and criticism regarding his defensive play and physicality. The cost to acquire Yandle may also scare off the Wings, as it likely would require an NHL forward and/or a top-end prospect. It was suggested last week that the Edmonton Oilers had offered forward Sam Gagner and prospect/former first-round pick Magnus Paajarvi in return for Yandle.



Tobias Enstrom, Winnipeg - 27 years of age, 1 year remaining at $3.75 million cap hit


Think Nick Lidstrom-lite. The two factors working against Enstrom in Winnipeg appear to be the Jets’ relatively deep defense corps (as opposed to their forward group) and more importantly, the fact he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Despite missing 20 games to injury last season, he was still on pace for a 44-point season without the injury on a Jets team that struggled to score goals. In his previous two years he topped the 50 point mark.

Despite spending his entire career playing heavy minutes on a weak Atlanta/Winnipeg team, he has an even plus/minus on his career.

He can shoot, quarterback a power play, organize a breakout and handle the puck at speed. Although undersized, he’s also known to be a solid positional defender. The Jets may be willing to move him this summer to ensure they don't lose him next summer for nothing, when he will likely be due to decent sized raise from his current $3.75 cap figure.

The Jets may choose to wait until the trade deadline as well. Similar to Phoenix, they would also likely be asking for some help up front in the way of NHL-ready prospects and/or draft picks.


Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary - 29 years of age, 2 years remaining at $6.68 million cap hit


Is he overpaid? Sure....probably by $1.5 - 2 million per season. Yet at the age of 29, Bouwmeester is heading into his 10th NHL season.

The upside in my opinion is the fact he is a great skater, still under the age of 30, can eat up and log heavy minutes, underrated defensively, extremely durable (7 straight seasons of playing 82 games) and has only two years remaining on that gargantuan contract. Furthermore, Bouwmeester seems to be the type of player that could prosper in a move to Detroit's puck-possession system in comparison to Calgary's style of play. Consider the fact before his three seasons in Calgary, he posted four consecutive seasons of 40+ points, including back-to-back 15 goal seasons with the Florida Panthers. Given Detroit's offensive talent in comparison to Calgary, I don't believe it's unrealistic that he could reach 40 points once again as a Red Wing.

The downside is the obvious $6.68 million cap hit and the lack of offense he has produced the past three seasons during his days as a Flame.

The thinking seems to be that with Calgary signing Dennis Wideman earlier this week to a significant contract, the Flames may be looking to move Bouwmeester's huge cap hit in order to commence a rebuild of some sort in Calgary.

The bottom line remains however, I'm skeptical Jay Feaster moves a 29 year-old rearguard who averaged almost 26 minutes per game last season for peanuts....no matter how much most observers feel "JBo" is overpaid. However, following the Wideman signing, Feaster admitted he expects to take some phone calls regarding Bouwmeester from teams that lose out on the Ryan Suter sweepstakes. What would it take to get Feaster to bite? Have to believe a 2013 1st round selection along with a relatively NHL-ready forward prospect could be enough to solidify a deal.


In any of these possible trade options, I'm not certain how much trade value Valteri Filppula has to the other team, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Red Wings do currently enjoy a healthy crop of forward prospects that could assist them in making such a deal without hindering their prospect pool substantially.

If Detroit is one of teams that can't sign Suter, I fully expect them to contact Calgary and conduct their due diligence to see if Bouwmeester is a viable option for them. Who knows, the groundwork may have already been established with one of these teams or another team for a potential deal during the draft weekend as a contingency plan if the Wings fail in their quest to catch the big fish in the 2012 free agent pool.


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