AHL defenseman Radim Simek and a seventh-round pick in 2024 were received by the Red Wings in exchange for forward Klim Kostin, which they sent to the San Jose Sharks in their first trade deadline move.
Prior to the Devils acquiring Timo Meier at the trade deadline last year, that pick was originally owned by New Jersey.
In his press conference following the deadline, Yzerman stated, “Klim and I as well as his agent had some discussions about possibly trading him to where he could get a bigger role.”
This young player is attempting to make a name for himself in the NHL. Thus, there was somewhat increased dialogue and a slight increase in… transparency.
Whether Klim and I are particularly happy about it or not is not surprising—neither of us, really, as we were hoping it would work out in Detroit.”
After Detroit acquired Kostin in the offseason in the hopes of giving the bottom six players more grit, Kostin has left the team.
With 60 hits and two fights, Kostin did make his presence known to opponents, but as the season went on, he was increasingly left out of the starting lineup.
Kostin had his lowest scoring season ever this season with just three goals and one assist in 33 games with the Red Wings.
Detroit was choosing to scratch him more and more.
While Yzerman was rumored to be in the market for a defenseman with some snarl, Simek doesn’t seem likely to fill that role.
This was more of a ploy to get rid of Kostin’s $2 million contract, which was set to expire after the 2019–20 season. The money saved will be used to extend the contracts of two stars, forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider, during the offseason.
Simek’s $2.25 million contract is set to expire this offseason and will not be renewed.
“Having a $2 million player does not make sense in the role that he was being used in,” Yzerman remarked. “To be honest, I feel conflicted about trading him. He was with us the previous year.
He is physically large and possesses some skill. Here, it just did not work. Whatever the reason, it was unsuccessful.
A move like this demonstrates how patiently Yzerman has approached this deadline. The current roster is largely unchanged by moving Kostin, but it does free up cap space for the team to make improvements in the upcoming season and beyond.
Even though this Red Wings team is currently sitting in a postseason spot, the future must come first.
Kostin’s departure means that there’s a spot open on Detroit’s roster, particularly at forward. With Dylan Larkin still injured, the Red Wings are rolling with seven forwards and 11 defensemen in tonight’s game against Arizona.
Now, Yzerman is likely to call up a forward. It seems likely that someone such as Jonatan Berggren or Austin Czarnik could get the call from Grand Rapids in the next 24 hours.
This deal did little to change the tempered nature of Yzerman’s deadline moves thus far.
As the Red Wings work toward clinching a playoff spot, he is letting this roster stay put rather than selling the future to improve it.
