It’s been about as bad of a few days as it can get for the Detroit Red Wings. They lost their captain over the weekend after a dirty hit to the back of the head by Senators Mathieu Joseph. Somehow, the NHL Players Safety didn’t feel that the hit was enough to earn a fine or suspension of some sort. Joseph got a two-minute minor penalty in the game, and although most felt a fine or suspension would follow sometime after the game, that hasn’t been the case. On top of that, the Red Wings had to add two more starters to join Dylan Larkin on IR. They are currently without J.T. Compher and Klim Kostin, whose absence was certainly felt against the Senators. That forced the Red Wings to call up a trio of Grand Rapids Griffins. They would go on to announce that Jonatan Berggren, Zach Aston-Reese, and Austin Czarnik would be headed back up to the NHL. It’s certainly fair to say that it was a good thing Steve Yzerman got Patrick Kane in a Red Wings uniform, as they desperately need him to step up.
As bad as that all sounds, it gets worse. The Wings are on a current three game losing streak. They dropped an embarrassing game to the Sharks as they lost after leading 4-0. Then lost a game that left them in a whirlwind of emotions to the Senators. Then lost again on Monday to the Dallas Stars 6-3. They can not afford to keep playing like this whilst in the midst of trying to get back to the playoffs.
They can get back in the win column tonight when they faceoff against the St. Louis Blues on ESPN.
With so many injuries, it’s going to be next man up for Detroit. One of the people the Wings will need to lean on is Jonatan Berggren, but they might want him to succeed for more than one reason.
Detroit is Reportedly Shopping Jonatan Berggren
It would make sense for teams to be interested in Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren. He is 23 years old and has a promising future. So, why would the Red Wings be eager to trade him away? Because he’s not what they need to get closer to the playoffs and the Wings’ farm system is loaded with promising offensive prospects. It would make sense for Steve Yzerman to see what kind of offers they would get for Berggren. However, don’t expect him to be traded in the coming days. With Berggren getting the opportunity to play following the injuries, this is a great opportunity for him to increase his trade value, and that would certainly be a huge help for Yzerman. If he plays well, it’s double the joy for Detroit. They could get the best of both worlds. Berggren helps them stay alive in the playoff hunt while also giving the Red Wings a chance to get a big upgrade in a trade down the road. We should see Berggren until a couple of guys get back healthy; after that I would anticipate the trade talks to intensify.
What’s interesting is Berggren isn’t the only name that’s floating around. Apparently, there’s some unnamed Red Wings on the trade block as well.
David Pagnotta mentioned that Berggren is just “one of the players” believed to be in recent discussions. This makes sense and is intriguing because, with the Red Wings in the playoff picture, the expectation is for Steve Yzerman to make moves at the trade deadline. The intriguing part is that Yzerman might even pull the trigger on a trade well before the deadline. It would make sense because, unlike some teams, every game for the Red Wings is extremely important. Me naming the other players that Yzerman may ship would just be speculation. So I’m not going to do that.
I will say that if the hope is Berggren increasing his trade value, then they are off to a good start because he got a goal last night for the Red Wings against the Stars.
The ideal package for me would include Berggren and a rostered defenseman to create a spot for Simon Edvinsson at the NHL level.
I will end with this. As much as Red Wings fans like Jonatan Berggren, and some would prefer him staying, you have to look at what is coming through the ranks for Detroit. Marco Kasper, Amadeus Lombardi, Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Elmer Soderblom, and that’s just to name a few. Trading Berggren after this NHL stint makes a lot of sense. What the Red Wings get in return would be interesting. Instead of speculating about who the Wings could get, I will let it play out, and we will see if anything comes of these trade rumors.
ITR 49: For Real This Time – Inside The Rink
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