The Detroit Red Wings are in the hunt for a playoff spot and could be buyers ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
Heading into the deadline, the Red Wings are likely to look to add a defenseman as the blue line could be in need of an upgrade. NHL analyst Tony Wolak of The Hockey Writers linked Detroit to a couple of defensemen including Alec Martinez of the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Still, adding another blueliner would be a wise decision. As we saw in December, an injury to the Red Wings’ defensive corps could be catastrophic,” Wolak wrote.
“Detroit can approach this in two ways – a short-term solution or one for the long term,” Wolak added. “The short-term option would be to add a serviceable, bottom-pairing blueliner around the deadline. This would be a cheap acquisition – costing a fourth- (or later-) round pick or low-level prospect. And ideally, Detroit can capitalize on a seller who has been unable to move a player that they want to deal. Essentially, another warm body who can effectively slot into the third pairing, such as Brian Dumoulin, Josh Mahura, or Alec Martinez.”
Dumoulin, Mahura, and Martinez are all pending free agents who could play on the bottom pairing. But, Martinez does make sense for his playoff pedigree and veteran leadership.
Martinez won two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014 and then won with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. He’s currently playing with the Chicago Blackhawks as he signed a one-year $4 million deal in the offseason. Martinez has skated in 26 games recording 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points.
Red Wings Key Defenseman Out Long-Term
The need for Detroit to add a defenseman only strengthened after Jeff Petry was ruled out long-term.
Petry has been sidelined since January 2 and on February 4, coach Todd McLellan announced he underwent surgery and would be out for six to eight weeks.
However, in his absence, rookie Albert Johansson has stepped up nicely, who McLellan heaped praise on.
“One, we found Albert,” McLellan said. “That allowed us to kind of settle everything out. Breaking up Simon and Mo was something we talked about on the flight in, when we got hired. They were getting a lot of attention as young defensemen — there was a lot of that was being asked of those two, and we forgot that we had some pretty good veterans, too. So a little bit of balance, make everybody important. Albert comes along and he does his thing, and it kind of just slots everybody in the right places. That’s how we got to that.”
Johansson has skated in 33 games recording 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points. Petry, meanwhile, has recorded 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 34 games before the injury.
Detroit Pushing For a Playoff Spot
The Red Wings have been a different hockey team since McLellan took over.
Detroit has won seven straight games after their shootout win on February 5 against the Seattle Kraken. Since McLellan has taken over, star defenseman Moritz Seider says they are proving they are a good team.
“Ever since Todd [McLellan] came in, I think we just proved that we’re a good hockey team,” said Seider. “We knew we had it in the locker room and we just couldn’t find a spark. Obviously, he brought that extra spark. That brought us back to life, but still a long way to go. We’re right in the picture where we want to be.”
Detroit is 28-21-5 and holding onto a Wild Card spot.
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