Red Wings Should Be Shopping Forwards To Pittsburgh Penguins

The Detroit Red Wings should explore a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins as the trade deadline draws near. The Red Wings could move someone like Andreas Athanasiou as a top-six forward to the Penguins.

As the trade deadline nears and the rumors keep piling up, the Detroit Red Wings may be able to work out a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team already may be trying to move Trevor Daley to the Penguins after he won two Stanley Cup Championships with the Penguins, but a top-six forward like Andreas Athanasiou may be a phenomenal addition for the Penguins.

During the 2019-20 season, Athanasiou has managed five goals and fourteen assists for nineteen total points. Athanasiou’s season has been cut a little short, only playing in thirty-six games after an injury kept him out of the lineup.

This year has not been as ideal as past seasons for the Red Wings or Athanasiou, but he is still a top-six forward nonetheless and could be a substantial addition to the Penguins forward core.

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After moving Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes this past offseason, the Penguins forward core has diminished from the powerhouse Red Wings fans will remember from the past.

The team still has Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to man down the top two lines, but additions of Alex Galchenyuk, Patric Hornqvist, and Jared McCann have been the other sources of their scoring. The remaining set of forwards like Brandon Tanev and Bryan Rust have made their team become a competitor.

Adding Athanasiou to the mix would only help vault the team’s forwards and scoring even more. Athanasiou’s versatility as a winger or center would be beneficial to Malkin’s line, where it currently tends to be McCann on the left side, Malkin centering, and Rust on the right side.

If Yzerman were to move Athanasiou, getting any return in the form of picks should do the team justice. If the Penguins are not interested in Athanasiou, the Red Wings do not have a ton of “exciting” top tier forwards that they should be interested in moving.

The team could move someone like Tyler Bertuzzi or Robby Fabbri, but in the current state, hanging onto both of those players seems like it would be the best thing to do.

Yzerman should push hard to try and get the Penguins to bite on Athanasiou and Daley in a package of draft picks, and that should be looked at as a win for the organization. Being able to stock the teams’ prospect bank would be even better for the team’s future once the window of competition opens up.

If the Penguins want to add another impact forward and bring in a veteran defenseman who previously won with the team, they should pursue a deal for Athanasiou and Daley.