The Detroit Red Wings are in the midst of a nine-year playoff drought and should look to add more offensive firepower to help snap it.
Heavy.com has a trade idea that would see the Red Wings acquire Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators in an intriguing one-for-one deal.
Red Wings acquire:
Predators acquire:
The proposed deal would be an intriguing one-on-one swap, as the Red Wings would acquire a top-six winger who can add some more offense for a young forward who hasn’t lived up to expectations.
The Red Wings would acquire Bunting, who’s in the final year of his three-year, $13.5 million deal. Bunting would add some more offense to the Red Wings’ lineup, while also being a pest to play against. He recorded 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 76 games last season between the Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins. His career high is 23 goals and 63 points, which he could get if he gets a top-six role with Detroit.
Nashville, meanwhile, would acquire Berggren, who adds some more youth to the lineup and would replace Butning. Berggren is 25 and hasn’t been able to carve out a clear role with Detroit, but with Nashville, he would get plenty of minutes and be a top-six forward. He recorded 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 75 games. He signed a one-year, $1.825 million extension with the Red Wings this offseason.
Why Red Wings and Predators Would Make the Trade?
The proposed deal would be a true hockey trade as it would be one-for-one and help both teams.
Detroit would make a win-now move by trading a 25-year-old forward for Bunting, who’s turning 30 before the season starts.
Bunting has proven to be an effective top-six player on a playoff team, as he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also plays with an edge, which will make Detroit that much harder to play against if the Red Wings make the postseason.
Bunting adds more scoring ability than Berggren, and goal scoring was an issue for the Red Wings last season.
Nashville, meanwhile, moves on from Bunting for a young forward who’s an RFA at the end of this year, so they have some team control over him.
Berggren can replace Bunting in the top six and add some youth and scoring to the lineup. He also fits the Predators’ rebuild timeline better than Bunting does, who could walk in free agency this summer.
Red Wings GM Open to More Moves
Despite being on a nine-year playoff drought, the Red Wings were relatively quiet this offseason.
The Red Wings added the likes of James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton to the forward group, but general manager Steve Yzerman isn’t ruling out the team making another move.
“We have plenty of cap space to do a lot of different things,” Yzerman said. “The most important thing is to find players that fit… “I don’t want to rule out anybody coming in, having a really strong preseason and forcing us to take a longer look to see how they start at the regular season. That’s a possibility for several players…We’ve got 12 players signed right now.
“Our debate is do we sign another one to have that 13th forward? Or do we leave that spot open and see if something comes up here over the summer? Or leave it open and let all those guys earn that spot?”
The Red Wings have just over $12 million in cap space.
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