Red Wings Looking Toward 17-18 Season

The 2016-17 season has not gone as planned for coach Q and the Red Wings. The previous season, 2015-16, the Red Wings expected a last place finish and managed to overachieve thanks to the stellar play of Erik Karlsson and youngster Petr Mrazek. Last summer GM Evans made a few offseason moves with the goal of getting the Wings back to the playoffs. Fastforward to late March and the Wings sat with a 30-29-5 record with no hope of a playoff run heading into the trade deadline.

Veterans Andrei Markov and JM Liles were set to be UFA's this coming summer, so GM Evans saught to recoup some value and get some picks in return. By retaining salary Andrei Markov was traded for 3rd and 5th round picks; this was compareable value to the 2nd and 5th he was aquired for in the summer. JM Liles was moved for a 5th round pick, slightly worse than the 4th plus prospect he was acquired for nearly 1 year ago. Young defenseman Klas Dahlbeck was moved along with a 3rd round pick for a 2nd next year. Next up, veteran centre Frans Nielsen was sent to the Sharks for the Ducks' 1st round pick in the coming draft.

GM Evans spoke to the media after the move and said the following: "Nielsen was our biggest free agent move this past summer, but he just didn't seem to click with the team. He was likely asked to do too much for us this season. He was a good soldier for us and managed to not take a single penalty all season, but we felt it was time to move on."

As the trade deadline ticked nearer, trade talks began to heat up with the Lightning surrounding young netminder Matt Murray. Rumour had it GM Evans was concerned about Petr Mrazek, and was uncertain if he would be able to be the starting goalie on a contender next season. Mrazek and prospects Linus Soderstrom and Carter Hart are intruiging options for the future but with superstar Connor McDavid joining the Wings next season, the time to contend is fast approaching. Eventually a deal was reached with Lightning; Young defenseman Hampus Lindholm and rookie winger Mikko Rantanen were sent to the Lightning for Matt Murray.

GM Evans held a press conference after the deal, and was obviously excited. "Matt Murray is the type of young, established goaltender that every young up and coming team desires and we are no exception. It was tough to part with 2 fantastic young players like Hampus and Mikko. We feel Hampus is an established 2nd pair defenseman already and has room to grow even further as he matures, and Mikko has quietly had a great NHL rookie season to follow up on an impressive AHL rookie season. This trade solidifies our goaltending situation for the present and future, and takes us one step closer to being a Stanley Cup contender next season."

Summary:
Incoming: Murray, Ana 1st 2017, Dal 5th 2017, Cal 2nd 2018, Mtl 3rd 2018, Mtl 5th 2018
Outgoing: Lindholm, Rantanen, Nielsen, Liles, Markov (50% retained), 2017 Det 3rd