With the NHL entering the final two weeks of play before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, most teams atop the standings find themselves anxiously waiting to know their first-round matchups.
For those on the other end of the standings, however, the campaign cannot end soon enough these days.
That’s the case with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The franchise from Ohio was eliminated from postseason contention on March 24, nearly a month before the start of the playoffs. It’s the fourth consecutive year Columbus won’t enjoy postseason hockey.
That’s one of the reasons for Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon’s idea of trading Johnny Gaudreau away so he can revive a career that has absolutely tanked since Johnny Hockey signed a shocking free-agency deal with the Blue Jackets.
“The Blue Jackets are once again one of the worst teams in the NHL,” Yerdon wrote in the introduction of his column, posted on April 6. “It’s a staggering change of fortune for Gaudreau and for Columbus.”
Enter one of Yerdon’s highlighted suitors, the Detroit Red Wings, which makes sense as a landing spot for the analyst if only because of the upcoming matchup between Columbus and Detroit in next year’s outdoor series.
“When the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings meet next season at Ohio Stadium in the Stadium Series, it’s a game that could use some additional intrigue and drama, right?” Yerdon questions.
“We know, Ohio State and Michigan hate each other, but do the Wings and Jackets? Not exactly.”
Yerdon is right in that assessment, and that’s why for him, “Sending Johnny Gaudreau to the Red Wings would spice things up real nice.”
Why Would the Detroit Red Wings Entertain Trading for Johnny Gaudreau?
As Yerdon points out, Goudreau decided to sign with Columbus to be “a little closer to his family in New Jersey,” coming off a start to his career in Calgary with the Flames. “After the great success he had in Calgary,” Yerdon notes, “we can’t help but wonder if a change of scenery is desperately needed.”
With less than two left in the regular season, the Red Wings are still fighting to make the playoffs. Gaudreau, on an individual plane, is trying to break the 60-point barrier in the final few games of the year.
The little winger has scored 11 goals and dished out 47 assists for 58 total points through 77 games this season, and he’s a minus-26 player in 2024. Just for context, he left Calgary in the summer of 2022 off posting career-high numbers in goals (40), assists (75), points (115), and plus/minus (plus-64).
“What are the Red Wings going to do if they miss the playoffs again this year?” Yerdon ponders. “What if Patrick Kane doesn’t re-sign with them?”
Yerdon thinks that Gaudreau, already 11 seasons into his NHL career, might have what the Red Wings need to get over the hump once and for all after failing to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the last seven seasons, and potentially eight times in a row if they can clinch a postseason berth during the next few days.
“What if [the Red Wings] feel their team needs a different element for their offense that only a veteran like Gaudreau can provide?” Yerdon asks.
“What are the Red Wings going to do if they miss the playoffs again this year?” Yerdon ponders. “What if Patrick Kane doesn’t re-sign with them?”
Could Detroit Fit Gaudreau in Their Offense?
“Adding Gaudreau to the mix with the Red Wings with Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond would make them obscenely skilled,” the analyst reasons.
As Yerdon goes on to warn, providing a negative to his fantastic scenario, adding Gaudreau comes with the con of turning the Wings into a “rather diminutive” offensive team given their current players.
At the end of the day, Yerdon thinks the Red Wings are a fast, quick, young team that could add another dynamic player like Gaudreau to their roster and bring him into their offensive schemes seamlessly.
“Making Detroit that much speedier and skilled would make them obscenely fun to watch,” Yerdon concludes, before coming back to one of his initial points, saying such a trade would “help make that battle in 2025 outdoors against Columbus that much more interesting.”
For now, Columbus will try to add a few points to their Eastern Conference-lowest tally of 64 during their final four games as Detroit (84 points) attempts to hang on the second and final wild-card berth to make it to the playoffs by the end of next week.
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