Wings acquire Stuart at deadline
On Tuesday just before the trade deadline at 3pm, the Detroit Red Wings agreed to a trade with the LA Kings. The Wings received 28 year old Brad Stuart and gave up two draft picks, a second rounder this year and a fourth round pick in 2009.
While I was initially quite disappointed that the Stuart trade was all that we did this season (especially after the excitement of last year’s Todd Bertuzzi deal), my outlook was much more positive after giving the trade some thought. All of our currently injured players are supposed to be healthy by the time the playoffs start. We know that the Wings’ lineup worked well together before the injuries started piling up so why trade away someone on a roster that was working before February?
GM Ken Holland tried to find an offensive player by the trade deadline, but the asking prices were too great. We all saw that with the injury bug of late, the team needed depth at defense. Holland made sure to address that problem and traded for Brad Stuart. Yes, we lost two draft picks, but we didn’t lose anyone on the roster or a first round draft pick. Injuries can cause big problems to any team (look at the Senators and the Canucks earlier this season) so part of postseason success is just luck concerning injuries. If we can help safeguard that by adding some depth on defense, all the better.
Here’s some reaction on the trade from around the blogosphere…
Brad Stuart- Traded to Detroit for a 2nd in ‘08 and a 4th in ‘09. Not bad for the 4th best defenseman on the worst defensive team in the league. Brad Stuart will always be overrated by some because he hits big occasionally and has some size, but I think he only improved halfway through the season because Jack Johnson took some of his even-strength minutes. Hopefully the Wings will pair him with Rafalski and allow him to concentrate on hurting opposing forwards. He’ll probably help their 2nd line power play, although I guess they don’t really have a 2nd unit because their 1st unit always scores.
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch:
So Ken Holland deserves credit for filling the one glaring need Detroit had heading into the playoffs: a 4th top-4 d-man. Andreas Lilja filled in quite admirably as a top 4 rearguard during the playoffs last season but this season has proven that he isn’t consistent enough to log the amount of minutes a top 4 d-man plays. He is a perfect fit as a third pairing d-man who can play on the PK. Lilja in fact is a very good PK’er and should suit up for most of the playoff games alongside Chris Chelios.
Brad Stuart should be able to fill two really big needs Detroit has right now: he is a legitimate top 4 d-man and he will be able to play on the point on the second power play unit. He was also one of the top d-men in terms of time on ice on Los Angeles’ PK unit.
Larry Wigge @ NHL.com:
Hey, we know Red Wings fans are used to GM Ken Holland stirring the pot at the deadline and bringing in a big name like Larry Murphy, Chelios or Todd Bertuzzi. Holland isn’t gun shy; just smart. He looked at what it would cost to acquire free-agent-to-be Marian Hossa, but balked at the price that likely would have included up-and-comer Valtteri Filppula and a bunch of prospects and draft choices. Give him credit, Holland knows Stuart is a top-four defenseman – and with Detroit still hoping for another Stanley Cup run, he couldn’t afford to let the deadline pass without making a move as insurance for his defense. Especially after seeing his team go deep into the Western Conference Final without Mathieu Schneider and Kronwall before losing to Anaheim.
“We think Brad’s a perfect No. 4 for us,” Holland told reporters. “He can play a little bit on the second power play, he can kill some penalties. He gives us something we’re lacking. He’s abrasive, he’s 6-2 – you know when you go against some teams that have got some bigger forwards, we can match him up against those forwards.
“He’s a guy we talked a lot about signing last July when he became a free agent.”
Matt @ On the Wings:
This obviously isn’t a bad deal as it did not cost the Wings a roster player or an established prospect. The added depth and experience is a good thing, though going into the post-season with Meech as the 7th man would not have been the end of the world by any means. Personally, I’d rather have seen a scoring forward come this way in a trade rather than a defenseman, but I’m not going to complain too much.
The question now is, who sits when everyone is healthy?
Pete @ yzerman is god:
First things first, I love the Stuart trade, and I also predicted it, give or take a fourth round pick. He’s by far the best value on the market. The guy has first round skill but hasn’t found the handle. If the Wings can do to Stuart what they did to Cleary, he’ll turn into a dominant defenseman. If he does reach his potential, the Wings won’t be able to afford him in 09-10, but at the least they could bring him back next year, in lieu of Lilja.
Basically the Wings kept 1) their roster intact 2) all their prospects and 3) their first rounder in a very deep draft. The only criticism I could make is not snagging at least Mark Recchi, who Atlanta had no reason to hold onto. Huds for Recchi straight up? I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. I like this team, once it gets healthy.
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