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We talked about it, and now it’s a reality. As soon as Tkachuk was injured it was obvious that Florida would grab a contract and get reinforcements as the injured player will likely be ready very soon after the cap is lifted for the remainder of the year. Florida sent a 1st round pick and Spencer Knight for Seth Jones (with Chicago retaining) and put Tkachuk on LTIR. Even at a now reduced salary of 7m, Florida added a Dman that could find new life on a club looking to repeat for the cup.

This is, in no way, the most egregious circumvention we’ve seen in recent years. Vegas got plenty of grief as did Tampa Bay and each year it will continue to be part of the playoffs until/unless GMs change the landscape. They’re not likely to.

Back to Detroit, the team has been “wobbly” since the return from the four nations tournament. McDavid has a quote floating around that going from the intensity of that tournament back to the NHL season has been a bit of a crash. Larkin doesn’t look like the same player. Raymond is going strong, but Debrincat has been on a tear. The team holds the final wild card spot after back to back losses to Columbus and 22 games where they have to do a lot of winning. In the East, they’re the only team in the playoff pic with a negative goal differential (-15) which speaks in large part to a very bad start to the year.

The more that market prices are revealed, the less it seems like Detroit can do. St. Louis wants first round picks (2 for Schenn), Philly wants first round picks (1 for Risto) and Florida just sent a first round pick to Chicago. An impact center is going to cost something, the same on defense and the same in net. In the meantime it looks like Lombardi and Mazur are finding their scoring touch again in Grand Rapids. Something has to shake the team up, even a one day call up may help do the trick.

Let me know your thoughts. Detroit’s defensive play has been really rough since the return, of course the PK has been awful all year. If they can’t clear the front of the net and get in lanes what is already a difficult climb will become nearly impossible. Players are on the way via development but the rental market looks rough. Reilly Smith is sitting out and O’Reilly is getting the attention of several clubs. Depth players that may help. Just need to figure out the costs. As always, let me know your thoughts as we head down the final stretch.

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