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An impending trade freeze across the NHL ahead of the Olympic break is approaching, but a move could still be made before the deadline.
The Detroit Red Wings have positioned themselves as legitimate buyers for the first time in years. In fact, it’s been over 10 years since the Red Wings made meaningful acquisitions at the Trade Deadline.
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Currently, the Red Wings occupy the second overall position in the Atlantic Division behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, with several other clubs uncomfortably close in their rear-view mirror.
While the Red Wings had been linked to Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, he was ultimately traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
NHL insider Darren Dreger of TSN recently appeared on the Barn Burner podcast with Dean “Boomer” Molberg and Ryan Pinder, where he hinted at the possibility of a major move involving the Calgary Flames.
He said the Red Wings would prefer to acquire players with term remaining on their contracts and specifically mentioned defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and forward Nazem Kadri as potential targets.
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“What about the Detroit Red Wings? We’ve talked about and wondered why they’d not have an interest in (Rasmus) Andersson, because we know they need a right-shot defenseman, or want one,” he said.
“Detroit is specifically looking for non-rentals; they want guys with term, both as a right-shot defenseman and a scoring forward,” he continued. “They’d like – maybe they can make a heck of a deal with Calgary, because they want definition at center ice. They want a top-two center.”
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In terms of contract term, both players have several years remaining on their current deals.
Kadri, who signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Flames in 2022, is signed through 2029. Meanwhile, Weegar, one of the key pieces acquired by Calgary in the blockbuster 2022 offseason trade involving Matthew Tkachuk and Jonathan Huberdeau, signed an eight-year, $50 million extension shortly after his arrival.
At 35, Kadri’s prime is behind him. However, he’s coming off a career-high 35 goals with the Flames last season, and played a key role in the Stanley Cup victory by the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
Weegar, a right-shot defenseman, plays in all situations and is the Flames’ current ice-time leader at just over 23 minutes per game.
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The Red Wings boast a deep pool of prospects they could dangle as trade bait and also have nearly $13 million in available salary cap space.
The NHL Trade Freeze begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday and continues through 11:59 p.m. ET on February 22.
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