The Detroit Red Wings are looking more and more like they’ll be sellers at this year’s NHL trade deadline. With the team’s playoff hopes at risk of being squashed, there is a lot of chatter about what kind of transactions could go down in Hockeytown. Thomas Vanek is looking like a strong option and rumour has it some teams are calling on Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist.
Take every name you hear this time of year with a grain of salt, but I'm told #Blackhawks have at least sniffed around Nyquist and Tatar.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 21, 2017
On the blueline, Ken Holland should be taking a hard look at a Brendan Smith trade and assessing what kind of return he could for the blue-liner. Smith is a smart, offensive-minded defenseman. He may not be having the best season, but history tells a different story for him and his play.
Brendan Smith Was Red Wings’ Best Defenseman Last Season
In previous seasons, Smith has proven that he’s a dynamic defenseman with a strong offensive upside. Under head coach Mike Babcock, Smith was always a positive Corsi player. He put up a career high 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) in 2013-14. When Jeff Blashill took over at the start of last season, Smith became even better and was quietly the best defenseman on the team. He recorded 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) for the second highest point total of his career. It was the third highest point total among team defensemen, tied with Jonathan Ericsson.
While Smith’s showing on the scoreboard wasn’t incredibly impressive, it was his underlying numbers that turned heads. Smith led all Red Wings defensemen in Corsi-for percentage with 56.93%. This was good for third on the team and sixth in the league. His relative Corsi of 6.2 was also best among team defensemen, top-20 in the league, and top-five among league defensemen.
No matter which way you cut it, Smith was a positive offensive force when he was on the ice. It’s almost unbelievable to think that he was a healthy scratch for seven games at the end of the season and the first two games of the playoffs. The team managed to back into the playoffs without him, but they lost the first two games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s when Smith was re-introduced to the lineup.
While overall team play in three games played can’t be fully attributed to one middle-of-the-pack defenseman, Smith’s 5v5 Corsi-for percentage across those three games was 58.90%, suggesting he made a big impact with his return.
Smith Off To A Slow Start This Season
The Detroit Red Wings had a lot of players struggling early on this season and Smith was one of them. The young defenseman was losing puck battles, unable to drive possession, and had a team high 18 giveaways. This is not the Smith that the Red Wings know or are used to. But when Smith returned from injury in late-December, he started to find his game.
Small sample size alert! It may only be four games, but the above stats are a clear indication that Smith was playing much better hockey when he returned from his injury. His relative Corsi was actually top-50 in the league, 19th among league defensemen, and fourth overall on the Red Wings, who have been bottom ten and at worst bottom five this season as a team in terms of possession.
Finally, the Red Wings’ top possession defenseman was back and playing to his potential! This is why it was such a blow to the team when Smith hurt his knee against the Anaheim Ducks early in January. He’s not expected back until the end of January.
Not only was he a positive force on the ice and creating opportunities for his teammates, his trade value was also on the rise.
Why A Brendan Smith Trade Makes Sense
For the Wings, their biggest need is glaringly obvious. They need a top-two right handed defenseman. There aren’t that many out there and they aren’t cheap. Brendan Smith is not one of them.
Based on what kind of defenseman he ended up being (an average one), it’s easy to forget that Smith was a first round pick once upon a time. Not every defenseman with offensive potential ends up being Brent Burns, but Smith developed into a talented middle-pair defenseman. He’s currently in the final year of his contract with Detroit, carrying a $2.75 million cap hit.
When the trade deadline rolls around, the Red Wings will likely be taking and making all kinds of calls. It shouldn’t be hard to find a playoff team who could use Smith’s strong puck possession game in a postseason push. The New York Rangers are a team that come to mind who are weak on defense. Or how about the Toronto Maple Leafs who are a bubble team and currently without star defenseman Morgan Rielly? In a Dion Phaneuf trade that nearly went down at the 2015 deadline, the Leafs wanted Smith in the proposed package they would get from Detroit, and with a team that has as many young weapons as they do up front, another puck mover would bolster the team that much more.
No matter who they are talking to, the Red Wings should be looking to collect defensive prospects or draft picks. They aren’t in a position to be able to give away offensive assets or draft picks. They need to think like a rebuilding team and be patient. This season, they should be trying to collect assets for their expiring contracts.
This also means that, if they are unable to unload Smith by the deadline, they should not re-sign him to another contract. He is not the kind of defenseman the team needs right now. Due to their dreadful salary cap situation, the only big contract they should look at doling out should go to Tatar. And yes – that means parting ways with Vanek.
The Red Wings don’t need a five-year rebuild. Doing it on the fly is possible, but it needs to start now with smart decision making. A Brendan Smith trade would be a good decision and should be seriously considered.
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