Steve Yzerman has made his first move of the trade deadline.
The Red Wings have dealt defenseman Troy Stecher to the Kings in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick, the club announced Sunday.
Stecher, a free agent-to-be after signing a two-year, $3.4 million deal with Detroit in the 2020 offseason, had played sparingly this season for Jeff Blashill, logging a career-low 15:08 of average ice time in just 16 games.
He played in 44 games for the Wings last season, but was displaced on the blueline this year by young right-handed defenseman Moritz Seider and Gustav Lindtrom.
With the trade deadline looming Monday at 3 p.m., Stecher could be the first domino to fall in Detroit.
Yzerman is poised to deal three more pending free agents in defensemen Nick Leddy and Marc Staal and forward Vladislav Namestnikov, while younger players like Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek and Tyler Bertuzzi have been rumored as potential trade candidates as well.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Friday that “the Red Wings have let everyone know they’re open for business, and I think Bertuzzi has let them know that he’s open to moving on."
Bertuzzi, though, shot that down a day later. He's signed through next season and is enjoying a career year with 24 goals and 49 points in 51 games.
I love it here," Bertuzzi said Saturday. "Not once have I ever said I want to leave. This is where I want to be. Whatever is out there is false. I want to be a Red Wing."
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