Trade Pitch Sees Red Wings Acquiring $23.5 Million Defenseman

The Detroit Red Wings are a borderline playoff team, but one trade pitch helps the team bolster their blue line.

The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades, and one user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquiring Neal Pionk from the Winnipeg Jets.

Red Wings acquire:

• Neal Pionk ($1.9 million retained)

Jets acquire:

• 2026 second-round pick
• 2025 fifth-round pick

The trade pitch has the Red Wings bolster their blue line while Winnipeg gets two draft picks as the Jets seem likely to enter a rebuild soon.

Pionk is entering the final year of his four-year $23.5 million deal with the Jets. The 29-year-old could be the Red Wings second-pairing right-shot defenseman for Detroit. Last season with the Jets, Pionk skated in 82 games recording 5 goals and 28 assists for 33 points. In his NHL career, he’s skated in 467 games recording 34 goals and 183 assists for 217 points.

The Jets, meanwhile, would get two draft picks to help along with a potential rebuild, or they could ship those picks to acquire a different player. Winnipeg also has defense prospects Ville Heinola, and Elias Salomonsson pushing for NHL minutes, and by dealing Pionk it opens up a spot for a prospect to take the jump to the NHL.

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Red Wings Hoping to Compete for Playoff Spot

Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season and Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman expects that to change this season.

The Red Wings went out and signed the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte, and Cam Talbot and re-signed forward Patrick Kane. The veteran players are brought in to help the young core, and Yzerman thinks Detroit can compete for a playoff spot next season.

“I think we’re in with that group of teams that has a chance to compete for the playoffs,” Yzerman said. “If we stay healthy, if our goaltending is good and players outplay your expectations, we might get in. Or you might just miss by a point on the last game of the season. That’s the fine line of it all. I look at the roster today and compare it to last year’s group; it’s a little bit different. It might be a little bit better fit as far as roles for players where they sit on the roster today.”

However, Detroit still needs to re-sign star RFA forward Lucas Raymond and star RFA defenseman Mortiz Seider. But, if the contracts get signed, Yzerman believes his team can get valuable playoff experience this season.

“Ultimately we’re still trying to put together that core of young guys who are going to be together and start to creep into the playoffs. Hang around in the playoffs then eventually win,” Yzerman said. “That is the long-term plan. We’ll stick with that. We try to surround these young players with good people and better hockey players to help them become better players and slowly inch forward.”

Detroit has just over $17 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.

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Jets GM Excited About Brayden Yager Addition

Winnipeg had one of the bigger trades this NHL offseason by dealing top prospect Rutger McGroarty to the Pittsburgh Penguins for prospect Brayden Yager.

A prospect-for-prospect deal isn’t one that happens often. But, McGroarty asked for a trade, and Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is excited about his return.

“If I look at what we’ve gotten returned here, I think it’s a player that fits very well into our organization,” Cheveldayoff said on August 22… “Brayden is a key part of a young team, a team that went far in the playoffs last year. (He) obviously has World Junior experience. So we’re just excited to have him in our fold here and looking forward to seeing him in a couple (of) weeks.”

Yager was drafted 14th overall in the 2023 NHL draft. In the WHL last season, he recorded 35 goals and 60 assists for 95 points in 57 games.

Winnipeg will open its 2024-25 NHL season on the road on Oct. 9 against the Edmonton Oilers.

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