For the third year in a row, the Red Wings approached the trade deadline looking to stockpile draft picks. They got off to a strong start, dealing Nick Jensen to the Capitals on Friday for a second-rounder in 2020, then Gustav Nyquist to the Sharks on Sunday for a second-rounder in 2019 and a conditional third-rounder in 2020.
But when deadline day arrived on Monday, the momentum came to a halt. Despite rumors surrounding the likes of Jimmy Howard, Niklas Kronwall and Thomas Vanek, there would be no further action.
"A few phone calls," said general manager Ken Holland shortly after the 3 p.m. deadline had passed, "but nothing close to a deal."
In return for Howard, Holland was said to be seeking a first-round pick, though it's unclear if he held firm on that price as the deadline approached. Either way, the interest in his remaining assets wasn't high enough to spark another trade.
"I only can deal with what is in the marketplace," Holland said. "I'm happy in the last two days we've acquired two second-round picks, we got a third that could be a second, we got a young defenseman in (Madison) Bowey (via the Jensen trade). ...
"At the end of the day, to rebuild with young players has got to be done through the draft with multiple picks, and we're trying to acquire multiple picks. I'd love to have acquired more picks, but like I said, the marketplace speaks."
Holland said there wasn't a market for goalies, which explains why Howard, a pending unrestricted free agent, is still with the team. Holland plans to sit down with Howard's representation in the near future to reopen talks on an extension.
"We talked a couple times. We agreed that we'd get through the deadline, wanted to see if anybody was looking for a goaltender. I'll sit down with him here in the next week or two," Holland said.
As for Kronwall, a few teams expressed interest. But the offers weren't nearly strong enough for the Wings to part with a veteran presence they value in the locker room.
"I would say over the last two, three days there were two, three teams that were tire-kicking," Holland said. "They weren't going to offer a ton.
"I think what he's meant to this franchise and what he means now in terms of leadership in this locker room with the young players, if somebody would have stepped up big time -- and I don’t know what big time means -- I would have probably had a conversation with Kronner. But that didn’t happen."
Even in the Nyquist trade, Holland said he was "conflicted." He had hopes of the Red Wings competing for a playoff spot this season, just as he does next season. Ideally, Nyquist would have been a part of that.
Holland talked with Nyquist's agent about a possible extension, but the long-term view of the franchise ultimately won out.
"The reality is, when you look at the standings, we're not nearly as competitive as we need to be to compete for a playoff spot," Holland said. "So as you work your way through January, February to the trade deadline, I felt it was more important to grab more future.
"That’s the direction we're going, so to go out and re-sign players and keep the team together, the team hasn't been quite good enough."
In total, the Red Wings now have 11 picks in the upcoming draft, including three in the second round. Holland said he feels good about the state of the rebuild, but preached patience. There's still a long way to go.
"We’ve got some really good young players in Detroit, and I think we've got some players in the pipeline that are going to be good NHL players. Now, I can't tell how good they're going to be and in how fast," Holland said. "That’s got to happen.
"Over the last two deadlines we've acquired lots and lots of picks. Hopefully those picks are going to turn out to be players. But they're 18 years of age. It’s a process."