Looking at Potential Trade Partners: Part 3 - Columbus
With the trade deadline winding down and no really hot rumors on potential trades, I have decided to take a look at each team that is definitely out of the playoff race to try and determine what assets they have that would be of potential interest to the Red Wings.
I am looking at each team starting with the teams with the lowest point total and working my way forwards. I started this off by looking at the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings. Next up: Columbus.
The Blue Jackets are in a similar position to the Atlanta Thrashers. Neither franchise has ever made the playoffs. It looks like Atlanta might end their dry spell this year, although they have been struggling of late. They have built their franchise through high draft picks (Ilya Kovalchuk with the #1 overall pick in 2001 and Kari Lehtonen with the #2 overall pick in 2002), trades (acquiring Marian Hossa from the Ottawa Senators and Slava Kozlov from the Buffalo Sabres) and free agency (signing Bobby Holik).
The Blue Jackets haven’t had the same success in the draft, selecting Rick Nash #1 overall in 2002. There is no way they trade Nash although he is having an off season this year. The team has had mixed results via free agency or trades. David Vyborny has worked out well, as he is a consistent 20 goal scorer. However Frederik Modin, Sergei Federov, Anson Carter and Adam Foote have underperformed. So with that being the case, is there a top 6 forward who would interest Detroit?
The Wings had a chance to sign Anson Carter this summer but took a pass. He didn’t do particularly well in Columbus, scoring 10 goals, about a third of his total production last year in Vancouver. Many people suspected he was the beneficiary of playing on a line with the Sedin brothers and that appears to be the case. The fact he was traded to Carolina for a 5th round draft pick indicates he isn’t a top level talent. So Detroit didn’t miss much when they took a pass on Carter twice.
Anson Carter: the Sedin twins’ biggest fan
Frederik Modin has been mentioned in trade talk, although that has cooled off a bit since Columbus indicated they would like to sign him to a contract extension. The reason why he has been a popular target of trade talk is because of his play in Tampa. While a member of the Lightning he averaged 30 goals per year over his last two seasons and was a +31 in their run to the Stanley Cup. He also averaged just below a point a game during their Stanley Cup run.
Even if he were available I am not a huge fan of his game. He reminds me quite a bit of Mikael Samuelsson and Johan Franzen, although Franzen has never scored as much as Modin has. But the Mule is also 5 years younger. I just don’t see Modin being a significant enough offensive threat to spark the second line for Detroit.
Another Blue Jacket forward who has been mentioned in trade talk is Nikolai Zherdev. He has struggled in Columbus and there have been rumors the BJs might look to unload him. He’s a player with a ton of offensive talent who scored 27 goals last year at the age of 21. But the Blue Jackets have steadfastly denied they have entertained offers for trades involving Zherdev, and they’d be insane to do so. He was the 4th overall pick in 2003 and hasn’t even scratched the surface of his talent. With Ken Hitchcock at the helm Zherdev will have to become a better two way player.
Zherdev Highlight Reel
David Vyborny is another top 6 forward who might interest Detroit. He has one year remaining on his contract at $2.2 million, which isn’t unreasonable at all. He’s a bit on the small side and wouldn’t help Detroit at all as far as grit and physical play. But he is equally adept either scoring or setting up his teammates. Ultimately, though, I don’t think he’s enough of a scorer to really get the second line going.
Moving along, what does Columbus have in the way of bangers? Jody Shelley is a solid fighter but adds absolutely nothing in terms of actual hockey talent. Jason Chimera is a great forechecker and has solid speed, but he isn’t the physical player Detroit needs.
The Blue Jackets are the first team out of the three I’ve looked at so far that have top 6 talent at the winger position that might actually be available via trade. There has been no talk suggesting Vyborny is available and I doubt the rumors that Zherdev is being dangled are true. So I’d say the odds of Detroit doing a deal with Columbus are a longshot at best.
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