On the Wings

Update (24. Feb, 1:50 PM): See 1:50 PM update on today’s GameDay post. -Matt

Update (24. Feb, 11:35 AM): Ansar Khan reports that since the Griffins will have trouble giving MacDonald playing time, the Wings will try to loan him to another AHL team or perhaps even send him down to the ECHL.

The main topic of Khan’s piece is the trade deadline, and it’s looking less and less likely that the Wings are actually going to be able to acquire anyone:

“There are prices we won’t pay,” Holland said before the Red Wings hosted the Edmonton Oilers at Joe Louis Arena.

“We’ll just sit on the sidelines and do nothing. I’m hearing that Monday or Tuesday as we get closer to the deadline and teams are sitting with players, prices will come down. If the prices don’t come down, we’re just going to sit on the sidelines and go into the playoffs with this team. It’s ridiculous right now.”

My stance on this remains the same as it was during the rumor storm with Peter Forsberg: the Wings could probably use an addition, but I don’t want to see them throw away their future for a rental. - Matt

Update (24. Feb, 1:17 AM): It turns out that I totally misread the situation yesterday afternoon, having been set off on a certain track by Khan’s post and extrapolating it into an overreaction.

Of all the reasons to waive MacDonald, I didn’t think of what probably should have been the most obvious one, given the resent news on the goaltending situation in Detroit. According to Helene St. James, Holland said later Friday afternoon that there was no deal coming and Joey was waived mostly in an attempt to get him to Grand Rapids where he’ll get more playing time and will finish the season, barring an injury. That means the goalie situation for the Griffins just got a little more complicated, as Jimmy Howard and Stefan Liv have been strong lately, I’m told, and need playing time as well.

As far as the goaltending situation in Detroit goes, we’ll be seeing Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood from here on out, folks. Dom will obviously get the majority of the games, but he will also back up Ozzie at times, though I believe MacDonald will still be on hand for the game against Nashville tonight (which became even more important with the Wings’ shootout loss to the Oilers. More on that in the morning.).

St. James does mention that the move freed up $117,000 in cap space, which could come in handy should the Wings become frontrunners in trade talks for one of the top forwards on the market. So, while no deal was imminent, waiving MacDonald could help their chances of acquiring the “top six” forward they’re supposed to be seeking. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that the Wings have put Joey MacDonald on waivers and suggests it could be a move to free up space for a trade.

He also notes that the timing is strange given the fact that Chris Osgood is playing Saturday and MacDonald’s usual job is to backup in those situations. Apparently, MacDonald could still be around if he clears waivers, which Khan says is likely, because he won’t have to be sent down immediately. I highly doubt they’ll have Dominik Hasek do the backing up so in the case that MacDonald is claimed off waivers by another team, expect one of the Griffins goalies to get the call-up.

This is interesting. Like Khan writes, it could mean they’re in the running for one of the more frequently-talked about trade options, such as Keith Tkachuk or Todd Bertuzzi. Keep an eye on the wire, folks. It doesn’t strike me as something Holland would do if he didn’t have a deal already cooking, because he could waive MacDonald at any time leading up to the deadline if he were only waiting for a good trade opportunity to come up this weekend. If a trade’s coming, and this move would be pretty pointless if one wasn’t, it won’t be long before it’ll be announced.