Detroit Red Wings: 4 players packing their bags at the Trade Deadline
By Bob Heyrman
Will the Detroit Red Wings finally trade Luke Glendening?
Year after year, Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening finds himself in the trade conversation as the NHL Trade Deadline approaches.
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The soon-to-be 32-year old forward can help any team in various ways. Glendening leads the NHL with a staggering 62.6% success rate in the faceoff circle. He’s excelled as a penalty killer and has the ability to play on the wing or down the middle.
Over the past few seasons, as the Detroit Red Wings limp their way through the regular season, they’ve been forced to ask Glendening to play up and down their lineup. He’s spent time on Detroit’s second line as a winger, along with playing as a center on the third and fourth lines.
He’s best suited as a fourth-line player that averages about 12 minutes per game. Glendening is a player that playoff teams can rely on to win a crucial defensive zone faceoff with less than a minute to play. Every playoff team needs a player like this to help protect a lead late.
In 40 games this season, Glendening has recorded three goals and totaled 11 points. A whopping 70% of his five-on-five shifts start in either the neutral or defensive zone. Only 30% of his shifts start in the offensive zone.
Glendening is a pending free agent, and teams should line up to add a role player like this. He has the makings of a reliable rental. The majority of his $1.8 million salary is already paid, so he will cost a trading team next to nothing.
I don’t expect Yzerman will be able to land a second-round pick for his services but should be able to land a third-round choice along with a sixth or seventh as a kicker.
Next. Adam Erne must want out of Hockeytown. dark
Teams that come to mind; Toronto, Carolina, Edmonton, and Nashville.