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NHL Rumors: Can Red Wings afford to sign Steven Stamkos?

By David Rouben

Mar 13, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) reacts to the shorthanded goal scored by left wing Ondrej Palat (18) in the third period at Nationwide Arena. The Lightning won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) reacts to the shorthanded goal scored by left wing Ondrej Palat (18) in the third period at Nationwide Arena. The Lightning won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Red Wings became major players in the Steven Stamkos sweepstakes by offloading Pavel Datsyuk’s contract.

One of the more peculiar moments of the NHL Draft was when the Detroit Red Wings traded Pavel Datsyuk’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes. After all, why trade somebody who’s retired?

That’s because, even though he’s not playing, Datsyuk still had one year left on his deal, and left the Red Wings with $7.5 million on the table. They needed to trade him to someone who had to reach the floor, and the Coyotes needed to. It’s similar to when the Flyers traded Chris Pronger to get his contract off the books so they, ironically, dealt him to the Coyotes.

The trade was a win-win since Arizona was approximately $10 million below the salary cap floor. Plus, they were able to move up in the draft and get a solid defenseman in Jakob Chychrun. While Detroit was able to clear Datsyuk’s contract without giving up a prospect or getting a bloated contract in return – in fact, they were able to acquire two draft picks and an asset in Joe Vitale.

And now, with Datsyuk’s cap hit cleared from their books, the Red Wings have put themselves as one of the favorites to land the most coveted free agent on the market in Steven Stamkos. As Darren Dreger reported, that was the primary motivation behind the Datsyuk trade, and that the Florida Panthers were the team they approached first, but Detroit wasn’t willing to take back Dave Bolland’s contract.

The Red Wings also sneakily pulled off this trade the day before teams could start talking to free agents. With Datsyuk’s departure, and $7.5 million of cap space cleared, Stamkos can fill his role right away. In fact, John Buccigross now firmly believes that Stamkos will leave Tampa Bay, and listed the three frontrunners to land his signature:

There’s a reason why the Red Wings always make the playoffs, and that’s because they’re always able to retool. If Detroit does land Steven Stamkos, they should be considered an early favorite for next year’s Stanley Cup.

h/t CBS Sports

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