Andreas Athanasiou may not be available but if he was, the cost would be high
Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Elliotte Friedman on his 31 Thoughts podcast with Jeff Marek mentions Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou as someone who may interest the Edmonton Oilers.
Friedman notes that he’s not sure if the Red Wings want to move Athanasiou, even with some of the issues they’ve had.
If the Red Wings would consider moving, it wouldn’t come cheap, and how much would the Oilers be willing to do?
“So in theory, since we’re playing GM here, if you’re Edmonton, do you give up one of your young pieces for him.”
“For Athanasiou, yes,” indicated Marek. “Because he is a young piece himself, and he can play with McDavid at that tempo. That would be frightening to the rest of the NHL. You want to talk about backing up defensemen on the blueline – that’s how you do it.”
Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Darren Dreger was on WGR 550 and was talking about Red Wings Andreas Athanasiou. After talking so some Red Wings sources:
“I was told, ‘No, no, no, no.’ Unless it’s one of those can’t miss opportunities, they see Athanasiou as being part of their future, that development of a younger core.
“Now, in saying that, where do these rumors and where does this speculation come from. Is the player unhappy in Detroit? There’s been some who wonder about his relationship with Jeff Blashill. I’m not there. I don’t know that to be true. But I don’t think that that’s enough to encourage a change in Detroit.
“And based on the feedback I got from the Red Wings, I think that the speculation is a little off-base.”