Projecting Four Red Wings Trade Chips And Odds Of A Deal (+)

It’s not what NHL pro scouts saw last season out of  Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl that hurts his trade value. It’s what they didn’t see. Holl was a member of a team that was ranked 24th in goals-against and yet he only managed to earn a spot in the lineup 46.3% of the time.

But Holl leads the Detroit Hockey Now List of trade chips, primarily because the Red Wings need his roster spot and salary cap space. The Red Wings have roughly $29 million in cap space for next season to sign 11 players. The majority of that money will go to restricted free agents Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. If they want to re-sign Patrick Kane and Shayne Gostisbehere, that will cost another $9-10 million. You can quickly see why the Red Wings may need to trade a player or two to create more space.

The Red Wings also need to move a defenseman because young Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson will need roster spots for next season: