Wings’ Sundqvist Traded to Wild

As the NHL’s trade deadline neared on Friday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings traded forward Oskar Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild.

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for center Oskar Sundqvist.

📰 » https://t.co/yTJjDujSAN pic.twitter.com/FTZVXEQkf0

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 3, 2023

The Wings had already moved on from pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bertuzzi, so moving Sundqvist as well doesn’t entirely come as a surprise.  And that return matches what the San Jose Sharks were able to get for Vladislav Namestnikov (which is also what the Red Wings got for Namestnikov last year), which makes sense to me.

It’s not a splashy deal but, for a rebuilding team, it’s important to get value for pending free agents rather than letting them walk for nothing.