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The Detroit Red Wings desperately want to rid themselves of Pavel Datsyuk's contract. That much is clear.
The Wings have qualified for the playoffs in 25 consecutive seasons and losing a player of Datsyuk's caliber, while still being on the hook for his $7.5 million(!) cap hit, may be too much for them to overcome.
As such they need to find a way to move Datsyuk;
especially if they want to take a healthy run at signing Steven Stamkos.
The Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils have been the most talked about teams as a potential landing spot for Datsyuk's contract.
All three missed the playoffs last season, all three are retooling, and all three would surely like to parlay some dead cap space for one season into assets that can help long-term.
It sounds like Red Wings would have no problem parting with a forward like Tomas Jurco or a 2nd round pick but if that were enough someone surely would have taken on Datsyuk's contract already.
Teams are asking for a lot more than that,
according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
Holland has "talked to a few teams" about the situation, but early demands have focused on 2015 first-round pick Evgeny Svechnikov and Andreas Athanasiou, whose speed and ability to create something out of nothing repeatedly was demonstrated down the stretch this past season.
Holland has said he doesn't want to sacrifice significant future assets for moving Datsyuk's contract, while, at the same time, acknowledging how much swinging a deal would enable the Wings to bolster their team.
Trading a player of Andreas Athanasiou's quality would surely be an absolute last resort option for Detroit. I imagine Holland can and will find a way to move Datsyuk's contract without parting with someone like Athanasiou.
In saying that teams aren't going to line up to take on $7.5 million in dead cap just for the fun of it. They will want to be compensated with a good piece and, while I like Jurco, a 23-year-old with 39 points in 143 NHL games seems like an underwhelming return.
Should the Red Wings offer up someone like Teemu Pulkkinen, who has torn up the AHL in recent years, and a quality draft pick - and not one years down the road - it might be worthwhile for the Devils to get involved.
Anything better than that, especially if (a big if) someone like Athanasiou ever became available, and I think the Devils would be smart to take on Datsyuk's contract.
The Devils are in the driver's seat here - it's Detroit's problem not theirs - and it's important for them to remember that in potential negotiations.
If they don't feel the return is worth their while keeping the cap space and using it to try and land a cap casualty (a la Kyle Palmieri, Brandon Saad, etc.) isn't a bad idea, either.
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