Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings Daily: Tkachuk, Trades, and Timelines

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2022

Nate Brown

It seems like every fanbase, writers and pundits have Matthew Tkachuk mock trades teed up since news broke that he was available. The Detroit Red Wings have been mentioned as a possibility. But like other teams, the asking price will be steep.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wrote yesterday that the Red Wings aren’t likely to be the front runner because the assets needed are likely too great for general manager Steve Yzerman to give up. Tkachuk would certainly signify a massive shift in the the timeline, but would, as Allen points out, go against the grain of what Yzerman is building.

Taking a stroll around the National Hockey Network, some teams just make so much more sense than others. It’s timelines that provide the likeliest clue in making the sacrifice to land a top talent like Tkachuk.

Take Montreal. According to Montreal Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy, the Canadiens are completely out of the running. What about the Panthers? Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards writes that Florida makes so much sense but the logistics of pulling it off would be challenging between cap space and shipping the right players away.

The Panthers, of the three, are closest to a Cup. Even their timeline makes a Tkachuk trade tricky, showing it’s not only Detroit having to weigh many options.