Kucherov Traded!

Last time we checked in on the Red Wings, 10 days ago, the team was flying high and holding onto a narrow 1 point division lead. Shortly after publication, GM Evans and the Red Wings pulled off a blockbuster trade that saw superstar Nikita Kucherov on his way out of town.

On December 8th Nikita Kucherov was traded to the Winnipeg Jets along with 3rd line powerforward Boone Jenner, checker Patrick Russell, and prospect Niklas Nordgren for 25 year old stars Teuvo Teravainen and Elias Lindholm, and youngsters Jakub Zboril and Tyler Steenbergen. The Wings retained 50% of Kucherov's deal.

"The Kucherov trade" has been met with mixed responses from Wings fans, with many questioning "why trade a star player during a season where the team is trying to contend?" and others mad about trading Kucherov at all. 

GM Evans held a press conference after the trade was made public:

"Today I made a trade to ship out a core piece of this franchise in Nikita Kucherov. When he was aquired in 2017 this team had a much different makeup, and McDavid was just in his rookie season. Nikita produced 169 points in his 172 games with the Wings but this season he seemed to lose chemistry with the team's top players and started racking up too many dumb penalties. He's a much better player than he showed with us, so I felt it was time to explore other options. There were 4 decent offers tables for Kucherov but when the Jets came forward with this trade structure I knew this deal made the most sense for where the franchise is at."

"Teravainen is an elite playmaker with a strong 2 way game that can play either wing and compliment whoever he plays with. Lindholm is a versatile 2 way player that broke out offensively last year with 78 points. Even if he can't repeat that level of offense Lindholm can kill penalties, play on the powerplay, and can play either C or RW. Both players are on fantastic contracts for 3 more seasons and will be RFA at the end. Zboril and Steenbergen are a couple young guys that reached a high level in junior but still have to prove themselves as pros. Zboril projects as a 4/5 defensive defenseman and Steenbergen projects as a 3rd line 2 way forward."

"This trade accomplished two things. It helped fix our team chemistry by adding 2 top end complimentary players to our top 9 forward group, and it helped solved a contract crunch that was coming up next year. Our team still has star power without Kucherov in McDavid, Hertl, and Couturier, so what we really needed was strong 2 way players to compliment these stars. This trade has the potential to improve the Wings both in the short term and in the long term, even if the 2 prospects don't turn out."

GM Evans' comments were met with initial skepticism but fastforward 6 games later and the Wings remain atop the Daigle division with a 1 point lead over the Lightning, and a game in hand. Newcomers Lindholm and Teravainen have jump-started a lethargic powerplay, and have recorded 6 points each. Teravainen has clicked on a line with Sean Couturier and Carl Soderberg. Lindholm has taken over the 3C spot, freeing up Soderberg to play the wing, and has already put up 4 powerplay points.

Nikita who?

Maybe GM Evans is right and he can rebuild the team while contending...or maybe he just handed a nuke to another contender. Time will tell but early returns look promising, and this Wings team looks as dangerous as ever at 18-9-2.

-Detroit Free Press

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