I love McMichael but I'd do that trade all day if SJS would take it. Meier is a beast.

Next season:
Ovi-Kuz-Willy
Meier-Lap-Mantha
?-Protas-Oshie

Nasty.

Exactly my thought process too. If Lapierre and Protas weren't there behind him I would feel a lot worse about it but I feel pretty good about the center depth in the pipeline. Also the possibility of bringing back Strome as well.

If Detroit is out of it at the TDL, they will trade Maata for a better return than throw away pieces. He'll return at least a 4th or C+ prospect and that's without retention. Detroit has no reason to help Washington, so if it's not valuable, we just keep him to ride out the season and let him go to UFA. We are already busting at the seams in our pipeline and don't need to add anymore useless picks/prospects, that will ultimately be cut anyways.

Just last year, Maatta was traded at the deadline for Brad Morrison, a career ECHL forward. Detroit themselves traded Stecher last year at the deadline for a 7th. Robert Hagg got a 6th. Like it or not, that is what depth defenseman go for.

Maatta is better than all of them and the value is irrelevant. Detroit does not need to move him and we're in a weird position where we are going to have to let draft picks/prospects walk anyways due to contract limits from all our asset accumulation in the past few years - we have no need to add more of that type of asset, so we're better served keeping Maatta and letting him walk for nothing, than adding assets we're going to let walk anyways, unless the assets coming back have more value than other assets we will let walk.

kick the can down the road and make it a 5th or 6th in 2024 then, not a big deal and as I said in the description definitely does not have to be Maatta. If there is one part of the Yzerplan that I think has been done completely correct though it is always selling. I doubt DET signs a veteran defenseman to a cheap 1 year deal without the expectation of moving them at the deadline if they're not in the playoff hunt.

I don't disagree there, if Detroit is out of it, I think we will certainly sell, there just has to be purpose behind the move and not movement, for movement's sake. The only way I think Detroit moves Maata for less than a 4th, is if it's done as a courtesy to the player, to chase a cup.

With 11 players on expiring contracts and only 2 retention slots available, Detroit isn't going to retain on any trade that only brings back a 7th and a nobody.