The Detroit Red Wings had made one trade in an otherwise quiet trade deadline week. David Perron will be returning to Detroit after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators. The Red Wings traded a conditional fourth round pick for the 37 year old veteran. However, General Manager Steve Yzerman had one more move to make. Just before the deadline, Justin Faulk was acquired by Yzerman from the St. Louis Blues.
Yzerman sent a first round pick, a third round pick, Justin Holl and Dmitri Buchelnikov to St. Louis. That was the steep price required to bring in a top four defenseman. Consequently, Faulk will be reunited with Perron as the former teammates join Detroit together.
The need for a top four defenseman has been at the forefront for the forefront of conversation for the past 2 seasons. Faulk has been averaging 22:35 per night in St. Louis, as well as scoring 11 goals and 32 points this season. Accordingly, he now leads the blue line in goal scoring and ranks second in average ice time. This was a big addition by Steve Yzerman, therefore the team needs to respond.
Detroit is slipping in the final stretch
The Red Wings have lost two straight games, thus the battle for the post season is far from over. Only five points separate Detroit from being outside of the wild card spot right now. The Buffalo Sabres made some major additions at the deadline, and are gaining separation in the standings. Therefore, Detroit cannot afford to let their losing streak continue.
Justin Faulk should be able to join the team immediately, however David Perron is still on IR. Perron had undergone surgery in January and has yet to be cleared to play. Faulk, therefore, will be the only immediate addition to the team at this point. Still, the defense should feel an immediate impact with Faulk’s arrival.
The Red Wings need to flip the script in terms of playing in the month of March. Historically, this has been a terrible month for the team for more than a decade. Still, this year’s team has shown the ability to bounce back after losses. The Red Wings will have one day off before attempting to redeem themselves and get back into the win column.
John Gibson returns, Soderblom is traded
Even in the loss, the Red Wings had some good news. Starting goaltender John Gibson had returned to action, stopping 20 of 22 shots in the 3-1 loss. Gibson’s return may be a critical piece in the Red Wings final push toward the post season.
In other news, Elmer Soderblom was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third round pick. Soderblom had been unable to grab a consistent role in Detroit, thus the trade wasn’t a big surprise. The 6’8” 24 year old forward will now an opportunity to crack the Penguins’ lineup, and is signed through next season at 1.125m AAV.
