Why The Red Wings Will Be Alright

It’s ok Red Wings fans.

We didn’t get Derek Roy, no Steve Ott, no Kurtis Foster.

Word early in the morning on Monday was Detroit was all set to acquire Paul Gaustad from Buffalo and they were just waiting to hear back from the Sabres about when to make it official.

That call never happened.

Instead, Detroit’s only transaction was to send rarely-used defenseman Mike Commodore to the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a conditional seventh round draft pick.

Along with the move, the Red Wings recalled Brendan Smith, who will get regular time and may be paired with newly-acquired defenseman, Kyle Quincey, who Detroit also got from Tampa Bay.

Smith had 10 goals and 22 assists in 47 games this season with Grand Rapids (AHL).

GM, Ken Holland has also indicated that Jakub Kindl will start getting some regular games under his belt before the playoffs, just in case.

So why will the Red Wings be ok without making a blockbuster deal? Simply because they didn’t need to.

Detroit has scored the second-most goals in the Western Conference (behind Vancouver), has given up the third-least (behind St. Louis and Los Angeles) and no team in the West has more wins in the conference than Detroit (33).

Jimmy Howard is back and healthy and Pavel Datsyuk will be recovered completely from surgery by the time the playoffs arrive – essentially addition without subtraction.

Another reason is, the Western Conference landscape didn’t change much at all after the trade deadline.

Los Angeles probably made the biggest splash by picking up Jeff Carter from Columbus – but is pairing him with Mike Richards going to work on the West Coast, because it didn’t work in Philly.

Vancouver gets some toughness by grabbing Zack Kassian from Buffalo, but gives up some scoring by letting go of Cody Hodgson in the transaction.

Nashville got Gaustad instead of Detroit, who is a great piece – but isn’t a playoff scenario game-changer.

Chicago picked up Johnny Oduya (2-11-13 -9) from Winnipeg but can he actually cut down on the goals against (189) the Blackhawks are hobbling through the season with? Chicago has given up the second-most goals in the West – certainly the most of any potential playoff team.

And, Colorado’s moves for Jamie McGinn, Mike Connolly and Michael Sgarbossa was more for the future than making a run this season.

I don’t think much has changed in the Western Conference and that’s a good thing for Detroit. They could have made a big splash, but couldn’t get it done. Keep in mind though, they didn’t really have to.

It’s a deep team, with solid goaltending and a young defense (my biggest concern).

I don’t see the West playoff picture changing much (add L.A., subtract Dallas) and if that is the case, you have to be pretty comfortable with the Detroit Red Wings roster heading into mid-April and beyond.