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As of last week, there were reports that Holland was pulling away from Andreas Athanasiou. For most of the season I’d noted that a trade for Puljuljarvi may be a nice deal for Detroit, especially if A.A. was thinking of moving on. In the above tweet, Matheson thinks that not only would Holland make that deal, but that it would be possible to get a 4th round pick. That would be interesting.
To the chagrin of many fans, the A.A. trade talk is going to pick up right where it left off. The speedy winger is irreplaceable pound for pound. I.E. - you’re not going to get another player that fast. But, could you get a player that can score a bit more? I believe that is possible.
Scoring depth is as great an issue as it’s ever been. Addressing the blue line and goalie situations are also serious, but we are beginning to see a very good defenseman make his way through. Zadina has shown he is developing his scoring touch to the NHL level, but is there anyone else in the system? Veleno killed it in junior but is struggling in his first AHL season (very similar to Zadina last year). The tools are there. Rasmussen and Svechnikov sit at 4 goals and 6 goals respectively in the AHL. Granted, injuries have shortened both seasons, but still not what the Wings are hoping for. Hirose hasn’t found his game in the AHL (scoring wise) yet either with 4 goals in 22 games.
And so, Puljuljarvi may be a very promising candidate. No, I’m not giving up on the possibility that A.A. can turn it around and decide to stay. Still, he’s had 5 goals in 36 games. Zadina has 8 goals in 28 games, as a 20 year old. That is a bit eye opening.
There is still an issue with this trade. Would Puljuljarvi sign with Detroit, and at what cost? His holdout this year put even Jonathan Drouin to shame. Yzerman scouted the disgruntled forward at the end of last year, and if he makes this deal it would be because he knew it would work out. Somehow, Stevie Y is a one man scouting crew when he needs to be.
At this point, I’d still prefer getting a Dman from Buffalo, NYR or possibly Carolina. But, this trade would be a welcome one. I’d like to hear your thoughts.
A commentor on my Rangers articles over the weekend mentioned DeAngelo from the Rangers. If available, he would check some boxes. However, I have some passionate readers who would much rather see the left side addressed. Drafted by Yzerman in Tampa Bay, the scoring Dman comes from Yzerman’s favorite 2014 first round (Larkin, Fabbri and Perlini). I’m putting a link to a page that shows the list of players. There are several untouchables on there, but players like Ho Sang and Fiala may actually be moved at some point. Look it over and give me a trade scenario. If you turn out to be right, you’ll get included in a write up!
2014 NHL Draft 
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