Wings eyeing future success

The Wings did the right thing at the trade deadline. If anything they should have delt their one year rentals in exchange for valuable playing experience for its Grand Rapids prospects. It is clear that the Red Wings are not a Stanley Cup Contender this year after a brutal two games against actual Cup contenders Carolina Hurricanes, and the Colorado Avalanche.

But, let's take a step back for a moment from the pains (Especially the loss to the Coyotes) of an ongoing five-game losing streak that has put the season's playoff progress in jeopardy and instead consider the direction of the Detroit Red Wings in a bit broader context.

Detroit made just one move, sending Klim Kostin to the San Jose Sharks and declining to pursue either a one-year rental or longer term addition to its lineup for a playoff push.

“We're still trying to build,” Steve Yzerman said Friday when he spoke to the press after the deadline. “We’re not one of those top teams that's willing to give up — or at least I'm not willing to give up — first round picks, some top prospects to get in on some of those rental players or high-price free agents at the deadline.”

Yzerman also pointed out that, functionally speaking, Patrick Kane represented his team's deadline acquisition, just an acquisition that came in early December rather than March. This season was not the one in which it made sense to push all of the chips into the middle of the table.  Instead, this was an important moment where Detroit had to keep an eye on its long-term future rather than just a single playoff run.  

The biggest reason for this is the imminent raise due for both Moritz Seider(Above) and Lucas Raymond (both presently making under a million dollars a season on their entry-level contracts) and more than likely a raise for Kane as well (if that raise doesn't come, the Red Wings would then need to find a replacement).  With that in mind, having quality depth on hand in the organization in the form of prospects currently toiling in the relative obscurity of Grand Rapids will become all the more important as the team no longer enjoys so much salary cap breathing room.