Klim Kostin seemed like a good fit in Detroit, but he didn't last long.
The Red Wings have traded Kostin to the Sharks shortly ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. deadline in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft and defenseman Radim Simek, who's spent most of this season in the AHL. The deal allows the Wings to clear Kostin's $2 million cap hit for next season.
Detroit acquired the rugged, 6'4 forward in a trade with the Oilers last summer in an effort to get tougher up front, then signed him to a two-year, $4 million deal. Kostin dropped the gloves in his third game with the Wings and said afterward, "Can’t let (teams) play dirty against us. We need to protect ourselves."
But Kostin struggled to find ice time and a steady role in Detroit's deep forward corps. He was recently scratched for eight straight games, which coincided with the Red Wings' six-game win streak. He managed just three goals in 33 games with Detroit, playing 8:34 a night.
Simek, 31, played in 209 career games over five seasons with the Sharks, but has not played in the NHL this season. He's a pending unrestricted free agent whose cap hit the rest of this season is about the same as Kostin's.
The Red Wings are projected to have about $30 million in cap space entering next season, but a good portion of that is earmarked for new contracts for Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.