Another domino has fallen in Detroit.
The Red Wings have traded veteran defenseman Nick Leddy (and depth piece Luke Witkowski) to the Blues ahead of the NHL's 3 p.m. trade deadline in exchange for two NHL'ers in center Oskar Sundqvist and defenseman Jake Walman and a second-round pick in next year's draft, the club announced Monday.
Detroit will reportedly retain half of Leddy's $5.5 million salary for the rest of this season.
Sundqvist, 27, is a two-time Cup winner from his days with the Penguins and Blues who has 78 points in 200 games over the last four seasons. He has 15 points in 41 games this season and will give Detroit dependability and size (6'3) down the middle. He's signed through next season with a cap hit of $2.75 million.
Walman, 26, is a left-handed shot who played bottom-pair minutes on the St. Louis blueline this season, tallying six points in 32 games. He also played in 24 games for the Blues last season. He's a pending restricted free agent.
The Red Wings acquired Leddy, a Cup winner with the Blackhawks, from the Islanders last offseason in exchange for a second-round pick (No. 52 overall) in the 2021 draft. So they recouped the second-rounder they lost and added two players who could be part of their future for a defenseman who's set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Leddy's departure comes after Detroit traded fellow defenseman and free agent-to-be Troy Stecher to the Kings on Sunday for a seventh-round pick.