Detroit Red Wings: 3 bad contracts worth adding to enhance draft capital
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings should trade for Jonathan Quick.
At one time, Jonathan Quick had been near the top of the mountain, looking down at most of his competition aside from a select few.
Quick has an impressive resume which is capped off with his two Stanley Cup victories. He was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy awarded to the Stanley Cup Finals MVP in 2011-12. Quick has also won the Jennings Trophy twice and was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy once. The one-time All-Star and now 35-year old netminder has significantly regressed over the past three seasons.
The Los Angeles Kings netminder once signed a ten-year contract that averages $5.8 million per season. Two years remain on that current deal, and the Detroit Red Wings should consider absorbing it…for a fee.
Quick has appeared in 110 games over the past three seasons producing a record of 43-54-13. His save percentage over that span is just .896 or better-put as, atrocious, and his goals-against average is 3.05. Still, he’s someone Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill can rotate in goal with Thomas Greiss next season as the organization continues to search for their long-term answer in the net.
Entering the 2021 NHL Entry Level Draft, the Kings are slated to pick eighth, two spots behind Detroit’s first choice. Los Angeles traded their second-round selection to the Nashville Predators in the recent Viktor Arvidsson deal.
The Kings currently control the 49th overall pick in the draft, which they acquired in a complex deal involving St. Louis and Vegas from the Alec Martinez deal.
Steve Yzerman should try and pry that pick plus an additional second-round choice in 2022 to take on the remaining two years of the Quick deal.
Detroit will need to give up something, but exchanging draft capital from the backend of the draft for early-round selections is always a great method.
After recently adding Arvidsson, it seems the Kings are hoping to turn things around a bit quicker than the Red Wings, so this helps everyone.
The Kings need cap space; the Red Wings have space to burn, plus they also need a netminder to pair with Thomas Greiss with Jonathan Bernier set to become an unrestricted free agent.