The Detroit Red Wings are battling for a playoff spot and one trade pitch has them acquiring a veteran forward.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquiring Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins.
Red Wings acquire:
Bruins acquire:
- Christian Fischer
- 2025 third-round pick
The proposed deal does make sense for both teams as Detroit gets Frederic who’s a pending UFA to help their playoff push, while Boston gets some assets for Frederic who is likely to sign elsewhere.
Frederic is in the final year of his two-year $4.6 million deal. The gritty forward can play a middle-six role with Detroit. This season with the Bruins, he’s skated in 43 games recording 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points.
In return for Frederic, Detroit would deal a third-round pick and Fischer who’s also a pending UFA. Fischer signed a one-year $1.1 million deal to return to the Red Wings this past offseason. The veteran forward would replace Frederic in the lineup as this season, he’s skated in 31 games recording 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points.
Frederic Named a Trade Target
Frederic is expected to be traded ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline as he’s in the final year of his deal.
DailyFaceoff.com’s Frank Seravalli released his NHL trade target board and has Frederic ranked 14th on the list.
“Frederic is a guy who has drawn lots of interest from around the league,” Seravalli wrote. “He’s a pain in the ass to play against. He competes. And he scores – 18 goals last season, 17 the year prior. Frederic is the perfect bottom-six forward and the Bruins have proven they can mine those guys better than any other team.”
Boston has already received interest in Frederic as NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said the Bruins have received calls on the gritty forward.
“Whatever the Bruins intentions are here,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts The Podcast. “They are getting a lot of calls about him… He’s the kind of player playoff teams are going to want. He’s a good teammate, he’s competitive… he’s a very popular teammate and willing combatant.”
Frederic can play a physical game and can also score which is why several playoff-bound teams will be interested in him.
Red Wings Turning Season Around
Detroit was expected to compete for a playoff spot this season, but early on that didn’t look likely.
The Red Wings ended up firing coach Derek Lalonde and replaced him with Todd McLellan. The team is playing much better, but the new coach just wants the team to focus on playing good hockey.
“I think that’s a really good thing, but .500 is just .500,” McLellan said. “That gets you nothing really in the League, but to crawl back the way we have is important. I did tell the players to quit worrying about wins and losses, streaks, playoffs. Just play the game. Make mistakes. Play well, we’ll fix it the next day. Later on, we’ll look at the standings. I’m aware we’re at .500, but I’m not overly concerned or too excited about it.”
The Red Wings are 18-18-4 and two points back of a playoff spot.
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