{"id":5747,"date":"2017-01-23T12:12:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T17:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=5747"},"modified":"2017-01-23T12:12:57","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T17:12:57","slug":"5747","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/23\/5747\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Red Wings Should Consider A Brendan Smith Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Detroit Red Wings are looking more and more like they\u2019ll be sellers at this year\u2019s NHL trade deadline. With the team\u2019s playoff hopes at risk of being squashed, there is a lot of chatter about what kind of transactions could go down in Hockeytown. <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanekth01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Vanek<\/a><\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/01\/20\/thomas-vaneks-trade-value-heating-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is looking like a strong option<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and rumour has it some teams are calling on <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatarto01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tomas Tatar<\/a> <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nyquigu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gustav Nyquist<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Take every name you hear this time of year with a grain of salt, but I&#39;m told <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Blackhawks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Blackhawks<\/a> have at least sniffed around Nyquist and Tatar.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkLazerus\/status\/822909203828318210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 21, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the blueline, <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hollake01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Holland<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should be taking a hard look at a <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithbr05.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Smith<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> trade and assessing what kind of return he could for the blue-liner. Smith is a smart, offensive-minded defenseman. He may not\u00a0be having the best season, but history tells a different story for him and his play. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithbr05.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Smith<\/a> Was Red Wings\u2019 Best Defenseman Last Season<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In previous seasons, Smith has proven that he\u2019s a dynamic defenseman with a strong offensive upside. Under head coach <\/span><b>Mike Babcock<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Smith was always a positive Corsi player. He put up a career high 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) in 2013-14. When <strong>Jeff Blashill<\/strong> took over at\u00a0the 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 <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/ericsjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Ericsson<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Smith\u2019s showing on the scoreboard wasn\u2019t 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 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and sixth in the league. His relative Corsi \u00a0of 6.2 was also best among team defensemen, top-20 in the league, and top-five among league defensemen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter which way you cut it, Smith was a positive offensive force when he was on the ice. It\u2019s 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\u2019s when Smith was re-introduced to the lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5758\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Nicks-Smith-pic-1-300x72.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Nicks-Smith-pic-1-300x72.png 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Nicks-Smith-pic-1.png 506w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While overall team play in three games played can\u2019t be fully attributed to one middle-of-the-pack defenseman, Smith\u2019s 5v5 Corsi-for percentage across those three games was 58.90%, suggesting he made a big impact with his return. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Smith Off To A Slow Start This Season<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Detroit Red Wings had a lot of players struggling early on this season and <\/span>Smith<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5759\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Smith-Injury-chart-300x59.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Smith-Injury-chart-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/01\/Smith-Injury-chart.png 431w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the Red Wings\u2019 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&#8217;s not expected back until the end of January. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only was he a positive force on the ice and creating opportunities for his teammates, his trade value was also on the rise. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why A Brendan Smith Trade Makes Sense<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>For the Wings, their biggest need is glaringly obvious. They need a top-two right handed defenseman. There aren\u2019t that many out there and they aren\u2019t cheap. Brendan Smith is not one of them.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on what kind of defenseman he ended up being (an average one), it\u2019s easy to forget that Smith was a first round pick once upon a time. Not every defenseman with\u00a0offensive potential ends up being <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/burnsbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brent Burns<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but Smith developed into a talented middle-pair defenseman. He\u2019s currently in the final year of his contract with Detroit, carrying a $2.75 million cap hit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the trade deadline rolls around, the Red Wings will likely be taking and making all kinds of calls. It shouldn\u2019t be hard to find a playoff team who could use Smith\u2019s 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 <\/span><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/riellmo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Morgan Rielly<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">? In a <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/phanedi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dion Phaneuf<\/a><\/strong> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter who they are talking to, the Red Wings should be looking to collect defensive prospects or draft picks. They<\/span>\u00a0aren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 &#8211; that means parting ways with Vanek. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Red Wings don\u2019t need a five-year rebuild. Doing it on the fly <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/630636412\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/630636412?et=OXkPYeYSSRxBDCwPTeYHuQ&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=tPOdpnPk5abdogWkEF3P1XMXw6BVAW_MsartYPieQro=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Red Wings are looking more and more like they\u2019ll be sellers at this year\u2019s NHL trade deadline. With the team\u2019s 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1667,"featured_media":5760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[850,95,37,343,571,38],"class_list":["post-5747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redwings","tag-brendan-smith","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-hockey","tag-jeff-blashill","tag-ken-holland","tag-nhl"],"modified_by":"Griffin Schroeder (Associate Editor)","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1667"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}