The Detroit Red Wings are a young team that added some veteran players in the offseason to hopefully end their playoff drought, and one trade pitch adds another star player to the fold.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquire Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks.
Red Wings acquire:
Ducks acquire:
- Eemil Viro
- Olli Maatta
- 2025 second-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as the Red Wings would get a star defenseman in Fowler for a prospect, an NHL defenseman, and a draft pick.
Fowler is entering the seventh year of his eight-year $52 million deal. The 32-year-old recorded 5 goals and 34 assists for 39 points in 81 games last season. He has spent his entire NHL career with the Ducks after Anaheim selected him 12th overall in the 2010 NHL draft. Fowler has been the face of the franchise and could be a second-pairing right-shot defenseman for the Red Wings.
Anaheim, meanwhile, would get Viro who is 20 and was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. Viro is a defenseman who spent last season in the AHL and could push for NHL minutes next season.
Maatta, meanwhile, is 30-years-old and is a former first-round pick. The defenseman has spent the last two years with Detroit and last season, he skated in 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 72 games. He would replace Fowler on the Ducks’ blue line.
Fowler Mentioned As Trade Candidate
Fowler has been with the Ducks his entire NHL career, but that could soon come to an end.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman spoke on his “32 Thoughts The Podcast” on September 6 and he revealed Fowler’s name has come up in trade conversations.
“(Fowler’s) a little bit older. They’ve got a lot of good young players, and eventually what you’ve got to start doing is you’ve got to say, You know what, Cam, we have to start taking some of your ice time so that these other players learn what it’s like to play in the important situations… Fowler knows that when they’re good and they’re really ready to contend, it’s going to be their team and not his team,” Friedman said.
Fowler has skated in 974 career NHL games recording 96 goals and 357 assists for 453 points.
Red Wings GM Expects Team to Compete For Playoff Spot
Detroit barely missed the playoffs last season, and entering the 2024-25 NHL season, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman expects his team to compete for a playoff spot.
Detroit went out and added Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte, Erik Gustafsson, and Cam Talbot in free agency to bolster their roster. After the moves, Yzerman believes the Red Wings can compete for a playoff spot.
“I think we’re in with that group of teams that has a chance to compete for the playoffs. 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,” Yzerman said on July 4.. “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.”
The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season when Detroit was eliminated in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Trade Pitch Sees Red Wings Acquire Star $52 Million Defenseman in Blockbuster