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Yesterday’s trade deadline came and went and, in the immediate sense of personnel, was a lot more about “trimming… than building. Hronek and Bertuzzi (arguably two of the best holdovers from Holland) are literally as far apart as they can be. Vrana left town for a 7th and half salary retained. If that’s not a sign that Detroit just wanted to move on, I don’t know what is. Sundqvist left town for a 4th round pick to MN as what sounds like a precursor to trying to get James Van Remsdyk, a deal that ultimately didn’t happen. Technically Dylan McLaughlin was added but in reality stayed put in Springfield.
So, the haul was 2 firsts (conditional), a 2nd, 2 4ths and a 7th and no JVR and a career AHLer who’s not even reporting to Detroit’s affiliate at this point. In his presser, Yzerman had a somber tone in terms of teams who were rebuilding “against…. He seemed to “tap out… and admit that Detroit is at the bottom of the pack in those terms. At this point, until the picks turn into players, this didn’t feel like a great deadline day for Detroit. Today, a shaken up roster had an early game against the Isles in a division that is going for it. In fact, the Eastern conference is “loaded for bear… as some of my elders used to say. So, how did it go?
Game Summary:
The game was worse than the deadline. At least there’s potential for some of the picks Detroit got. The team Lalonde put on ice showed little to nothing worth looking forward to. Trev Thompson’s sandwich was the highlight of the game.
For the first time in recent memory, Yzerman sent the team into this game saying they were the furthest behind in a rebuild and with 2 AHL goalies in the lineup. It became far too commonplace for Detroit to ask Husso to bail them out night after night. Magnus gave them a chance for about 2/3s of the game. Other than that, it’s becoming a laughable sink to the bottom. I don’t want to hear about lottery odds because until we see one where we’re not knocked back, just plan on picking 1 to 2 slots later than the finish.
The team looks lost. Is that coaching? Is it turnover and loss within the room? It doesn’t really matter. We’re seeing some of the same awful play that was supposed to start trending up. One player’s emotional return to the NHL and one power play goal were pretty much all this team was capable of giving today. The “2018 line… made horrible decisions on so many passes and shots. David Perron is becoming a liability after he’d been a boost for this group.
I don’t know what to say at this point. Philly now saying that not even a 4th round pick was offered for JVR. I don’t know what the offer was, but if that’s true, this feels to date like Yzerman’s worst deadline. Copp has not turned out to be what the team had hoped for. Seider is still making good plays at times, but Raymond looks like a shell of the rookie from last year right now.
There is an overall feeling that this team just quit trying. Everything post a hard played Tampa Bay game where they were shut out should embarrass this team. It certainly doesn’t give much to write about.
First Period Detroit Red Wings goals:
No first period goals
Shots: 18-6 NYI Score: 0-0
*Chiasson’s interview was extremely heart felt. Did not expect so much emotion as a player who wanted to be in this league more than anything. That is how special it should feel (my opinion). The rest of the team would do well to tap into that
Second Period Detroit Red Wings goals:
On a power play with just 1:01 left in the second, Seider made a nice pass from the blue line to Larkin who was on the right side of the net. The Captain turned and got the first tally of the game, immediately pointing to Seider for a well placed pass. Fabbri with 2nd assist. 1-0 DET
Shots: 25-12 NYI Score: 1-0 DET
Third Period Detroit Red Wings goals:
NYI ties it up 2:11 into the third, 1-1
NYI then takes the lead at 4:39 after a faceoff win 2-1 NYI
NYI adds to lead on power play with 4:19 left 3-1 NYI
A missed hook on Larkin became a neutral zone turnover and another NYI goal. 4-1 NYI
Shots: 36-23 NYI Score: 4-1 NYI