According to rumor sites and sources on Twitter, the Red Wings have been quite aggressive in their pursuit of a defenseman lately. According to reports, the Red Wings were very close to a deal that would have sent Dion Phaneuf from Toronto to Detroit. The deal fell apart late last night after the Red Wings wanted Toronto to take Weiss as well as $2.5 million to make the money work itself out. Dion Phaneuf was the Red Wings top trade target, however after the deal fell through with their biggest rival, the Leafs will likely shop Phaneuf somewhere else, including Tampa Bay or Anaheim.
The Red Wings, however are moving their efforts over to the Edmonton Oilers, and to another right-handed defenseman named Jeff Petry. It was reported that Petry will be a healthy scratch for the game tonight, ahead of the trade deadline. After missing out on Phaneuf, the Red Wings have immediately become the front runners for Petry.
A lot of Red Wings fans on Twitter got excited when a fake account announced a deal was done, however some reliable sources have narrowed it down to Detroit, Tampa Bay and Montreal, as well as the possibility of him being moved to Anaheim (who just acquired Tomas Fleischmann from Florida) or some other place out West for a higher price tag.
One interesting note on Petry is that while he would at first look appear to be a rental after having one year left on his contract, Petry is a Michigan man, and is from Ann Arbor. For the same reason they lost Ryan Suter to Minnesota, they could put him and Danny DeKeyser on the same line long term, forming a great young duo, as Petry is only 27 years old.
The Oilers are looking to rebuild for the future, looking for younger players. There is some debate over what offers they might take, but names that have come up include Jakub Kindl, Stephen Weiss, Darren Helm and multiple young mid-level prospects. One deal that has been reported to make sense for both teams is a second rounder and a mid-level defense prospect, or Jakub Kindl and a 4th or 5th round draft selection.
Jeff Petry has not had the best year of his career this season, however he is on one of the worst teams in the league. It is believed that if he is on a better team, his stats would improve. Also of note, he is a right handed defenseman, something the Red Wings really need. They have been actively pursuing one for a couple of years now. Petry, or whoever the Red Wings end up trading for, could be the missing link for this team to help them go further into the playoffs.