On the Detroit Red Wings …
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings lost Alexey Marchenko to waivers (Toronto) to clear room for Brendan Smith‘s return to the lineup. There could be more moves in the future for Wings as both Steve Ott and Jimmy Howard are getting close to returning.
Goaltender Jared Coreau could be sent back to the AHL when Howard returns, but they may not have enough cap space.
Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News: Kennedy thinks the Red Wings need to start the long process of rebuilding.
The 35-year old Henrik Zetterberg is under contract for four more years at a $6 million cap hit. If he wants another Stanley Cup, it won’t be in Detroit.
They need to move some of their long-term contracts – Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall and Frans Nielsen – but that won’t be easy due to no-trade clauses for some.
A top-five pick this year and next would really help the rebuild.
ESPN: Round table on the decisions the Detroit Red Wings will have to make.
Craig Custance: It’s time for the Red Wings to start selling while it’s still a sellers market. They should definitely trade Thomas Vanek. Can bring him back in the offseason if they want. Defenseman and pending UFA Brendan Smith should be dealt. Mike Green has a year left on his deal, but could also be traded. Steve Ott should be another player they move.
Pierre LeBrun: They should replace some veterans with younger players. They move into a new building next year and should to be somewhat competitive.
Scott Burnside: Pavel Datsyuk has moved on, now it’s time for Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall to move on as well. The signing Mike Green didn’t make much sense at the time and he should be traded.