Todd McLellan: Steve Yzerman believes in Detroit Red Wings at NHL trade deadline
As the NHL trade deadline nears, Detroit Red Wings players hope their general manager takes their chemistry into consideration – and their coach hopes they’re not waiting for anyone to come to their rescue.
This is a week that can test the ability to shut out outside chatter, with 3 p.m. Friday looming as a last opportunity for GMs to swap with one another before the playoffs. The Wings have a little north of $11 million in cap space and could use a depth defenseman and help at center, but whether Yzerman ponies up the cost to make additions could be influenced by how the Wings perform this week.
“That’s a matter of how good we play and it kinds of puts the pressure on us,” defenseman Moritz Seider said. “I’ll always take those odds for ourselves. I like to bet on ourselves because I think we can believe in each other, we can trust in each other, and hopefully in the end, we send a positive message that this is a good team.”
Seider said he’s usually one of the last to hear about a trade because, “I’m not very big on social media to check it every day or every minute. I believe in this locker room and I believe we have a good chance of doing what we can as a group here together.”
Veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot likewise tries to tune out the distraction, but conceded that, “guys pay attention to what’s going on around the league. I think everyone on every team is hopeful that you are bringing guys in to help the cause. We’re no different in here.
“If you’ve got a good thing going, everyone is kind of set in their roles, you almost want to leave it be. If you’re a team looking to fill some needs, you’re hopeful of adding something. But chemistry is an important thing, and you want to have that going into the playoffs.”
NHL TRADE DEADLINE: Detroit Red Wings’ next 2 games will be huge for Steve Yzerman
The Wings have a need at center after losing Andrew Copp to season-ending shoulder surgery at the end of February. Michael Rasmussen hasn’t played since suffering a blow to the head on Feb. 27, and remains day-to-day. On the back end, defenseman Jeff Petry, who underwent surgery for an undisclosed injury in early February, has begun to skate, but the timeline hasn’t changed from the estimated 6-to-8 week recovery. “We hope that he recovers quick and is back in the lineup,” coach Todd McLellan said, “but it wont’ be soon.”
