Red Wings Trade Deadline Thoughts

I’m going to start with my initial reaction to the Red Wings’ lone trade today.

Did not expect to come out of surgery and see that the Red Wings moved Joe Veleno for Petr Mrazek. Am I still sedated?

— DetroitHockey.Net (@detroithockey.net) March 7, 2025 at 2:25 PM

This was just extremely unexpected. With defense and a replacement for Andrew Copp looking like priorities, the Red Wings went out and got a goalie and a bottom-six forward (Craig Smith, who I did not mention in that post on Bluesky).

I’m not against trading Veleno. The Wings’ 2018 first round looked great at the time but turned out to be disastrous. Veleno never really found a way to fit anywhere in the lineup, ending up in the bottom six by default more than anything.

In fact, I can see Veleno for Smith as an upgrade. Swap out a guy who doesn’t really fit for someone who upgrades your bottom six and makes you harder to play against? Yeah, I can see that. It’s not sexy but it makes sense.

I even get the idea of upgrading the goaltending. Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have been struggling. If you want to keep giving Sebastian Cossa minutes in Grand Rapids but also want another option in Detroit, you go out and get another goalie.

But I don’t see how Mrazek is the answer there. And I say that as someone who always liked Mrazek and thought he got a bad deal at the end of his first run with the Wings. The Mrazek of today doesn’t seem to be any better than Talbot or Lyon.

Detroit GM Steve Yzerman commented that getting Mrazek was also about solidifying the crease next year. Basically, Lyon will want a raise and/or term so – even ignoring this year – the deal sets the Red Wings’ tandem as Talbot and Mrazek next year without having to overpay in free agency. But it sure seems like Mrazek at $4.25 million is, itself, an overpay. And, at that salary, it seems like the Blackhawks should have had to attach assets to get the Red Wings to take on Mrazek’s contract.

So I get the bones of this deal but the execution just does not make sense to me. I want to like it but it feels like bad asset management again and I’m getting really tired of that.

Additionally, while I get the bones of this deal, I don’t really think it moves the needle for the Red Wings this season. Especially with the Ottawa Senators upgrading by adding Dylan Couzens, who was rumored to be a target of Detroit. So why make this deal (and only this deal) if it isn’t enough to get the Red Wings into the playoffs this year and it messes with the team’s cap hit next year?

I almost understand it but there are just too many questions.

On the frivolous side of things…  Jersey numbers.

With Lyon wearing the #34 that Mrazek has worn for most of his career (including that first stint with the Red Wings), I’ll guess that Mrazek takes the #35 he wore in Toronto, available now that Ville Husso has moved on to the Anaheim organization.

With his usual #15 assigned to Sheldon Dries, I think Smith will take #17.