The Detroit Red Wings have acquired defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the New Jersey Devils for a conditional 2016 third-round pick.
The Detroit Red Wings have added a bit of an offensive punch to their defense, acquiring defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the New Jersey Devils for a conditional 2016 third-round pick, according to Rich Chere of NJ.com.
Zidlicky has played in all 63 games for the Devils this season, registering 4 goals and 19 assists and 23 points with a minus-7 rating. A former sixth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2001, Zidlicky has compiled 82 goals and 390 assists in 762 games played with the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils. 56 of his goals have come on the powerplay.
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The Red Wings were heavily rumored to be in the market for a defenseman and were in serious trade talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Dion Phaneuf. However, the Leafs price for Phaneuf proved to be too high for Detroit to pay, so they turned to the Devils and Marek Zidlicky as a cheaper option.
Phaneuf and Zidlicky are two completely different players.
Phaneuf is a hard-nosed, physical defenseman, while Zidlicky is a puck-moving, offensive defenseman. So, it is a bit surprising that Zidlicky was the backup plan in case the Red Wings couldn’t get Phaneuf. Still, Zidlicky will be a great addition to the Red Wings blue line as they get ready to make a run in the playoffs. He will bring some speed and offensive creativity and will most certainly be a great asset on the powerplay.
In return, the Devils get another draft pick to go along with the 2015 second-round and 2016 conditional third-round pick they already received from the Jaromir Jagr trade.
The condition for the third-round pick acquired for Zidlicky is that if the Red Wings make it to the Stanley Cup final, it turns into a second-round pick instead of a third-round. The Devils also apparently will retain $1 million of Zidlicky’s salary.
FYI that the Devils have retained $1 million of Zidlicky's salary in that trade
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 2, 2015
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