News Article: The Athletic's Trade Big Board

[Hen Kolland]

There's nothing contortionist about it.
AA as a passenger is a bloody joke. The guy put up 30 goals and 54 points playing with scrubs.

A line of Fabbri-AA-Mantha could do great things... both short term and long term (for AA's trade value).

Keep on lobbying for the garbage thinking of Blashill that's made the Red Wings the worst team of the cap era.

I'm not talking about last year. I'm talking about right now, because the Athanasiou from last year you looooove to keep talking about is dead. He doesn't exist.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

There's nothing contortionist about it.
AA as a passenger is a bloody joke. The guy put up 30 goals and 54 points playing with scrubs.

A line of Fabbri-AA-Mantha could do great things... both short term and long term (for AA's trade value).

Keep on lobbying for the garbage thinking of Blashill that's made the Red Wings the worst team of the cap era.

What's made the Wings the worst team of the cap era is the fact that there is a gap between when their young guys are ready to carry the banner and the stars that kept them afloat died in an NHL sense and that they basically drew an 0-fer for the draft from 2005-2011. Fabbri-AA-Mantha would not be a good line. That's three wingers. AA is a ****ty center. If he wasn't, they wouldn't have signed Filppula nor would they try to keep Frans Nielsen there.

I think AA has become the Brandon Inge of the Red Wings. More talented, to be sure, but the parallel is that the fans form two opposite camps, and the two camps will forever disagree about the true value/potential of the player, with no real discourse taking place.

I could have a guarantee that AA will score 30 goals each of the next 3 seasons, and I'd still listen to trade offers, because I just don't like the player, and I think his style of scoring those 30 regular season goals would translate into only 1-2 goals during a playoff run when it really matters. But apparently this will eventually end in "agree to disagree" territory anyway, so I don't know that it matters.

Ding, ding, ding. Perfect. It's a damn good comparison because Inge had his profile inflated by a career year (27 bombs, high .200s BA) and then clearly declined horribly. People who loved him overlooked the massive decline until it was SO bad that he couldn't reach the Mendoza line.

 

[raymond23]

There are a lot of interesting LD that I’d be interested in trading for.

Murray
Gardiner
Gustafsson
DeAngelo (rd but former Yzerman 1st round pick)

Would not be opposed to moving AA for a talented defenseman. Not sure how I’d feel about a straight up trade for some of those names, but they would definitely help our defense for the next couple of years.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

There are a lot of interesting LD that I’d be interested in trading for.

Murray
Gardiner
Gustafsson
DeAngelo (rd but former Yzerman 1st round pick)

Would not be opposed to moving AA for a talented defenseman. Not sure how I’d feel about a straight up trade for some of those names, but they would definitely help our defense for the next couple of years.

Any of those or Georgiev. These are very interesting ideas.

 

[Bench]

There are a lot of interesting LD that I’d be interested in trading for.

Murray
Gardiner
Gustafsson
DeAngelo (rd but former Yzerman 1st round pick)

Would not be opposed to moving AA for a talented defenseman. Not sure how I’d feel about a straight up trade for some of those names, but they would definitely help our defense for the next couple of years.

Kick the tires on Matt Grzelcyk. If the Bruins keep Krug, he's the one that will shake loose. And he's an RFA like AA. Makes a ton of sense on paper.

 

[Oddbob]

Kick the tires on Matt Grzelcyk. If the Bruins keep Krug, he's the one that will shake loose. And he's an RFA like AA. Makes a ton of sense on paper.

HEY! Holland is gone, tire kicking was supposed to have ended!

 

[Ricelund]

I think AA has become the Brandon Inge of the Red Wings. More talented, to be sure, but the parallel is that the fans form two opposite camps, and the two camps will forever disagree about the true value/potential of the player, with no real discourse taking place.

Or just 2020's Jiri Hudler.

 

[Hammettf2b]

AA hasn’t changed since juniors where he was traded for being a ****ty guy and then fell in the draft for being a ****ty guy. Two separate chl teams two different coaches. Now it seems he’s alienated Yzerman “not his cup of tea.” To me means Yzerman doesn’t love cocky *****e bags that put themselves before the team.

three coaches same result.

Didn't AA thrive after getting traded from London? I remember reading there was some type of drama with London and once he got traded, that drama stopped.

 

[Bench]

Or just 2020's Jiri Hudler.

What was the name of that poster that was obsessed with Hudler? When Hudler left, so did he, which is touching in a way.

 

[Hammettf2b]

What was the name of that poster that was obsessed with Hudler? When Hudler left, so did he, which is touching in a way.

Doc? I think that was it?

 

[Bench]

Doc? I think that was it?

Doc Holiday? That boy still with us. And wasn't obsessed... That I remember.

Or another Doc?

 

[Hammettf2b]

Doc Holiday? That boy still with us. And wasn't obsessed... That I remember.

Or another Doc?

Maybe I have it wrong. I thought I saw someone mention this exact thing about the Hudler obsession and the user was Doc.

 

[Bench]

Maybe I have it wrong. I thought I saw someone mention this exact thing about the Hudler obsession and the user was Doc.

@ArGarBarGar get in here and tell is how obsessed you are with Hudler.

 

[Ricelund]

What was the name of that poster that was obsessed with Hudler? When Hudler left, so did he, which is touching in a way.

You're probably thinking of eva unit zero. Looks like he deleted his account.

 

[Ricelund]

More AA trade thoughts from Bultman:

1. Andreas Athanasiou will be traded.

It might be a tougher deal to swing than it would have seemed four months ago, with Athanasiou going through a down year, but a trade of the former 30-goal scorer still looms as the likeliest “splashy” one the Red Wings could make in 2020. Here’s the twist, though: I’ll say the deal doesn’t happen by February’s trade deadline, and instead has to wait until the offseason, perhaps culminating at the draft.

With the speedy forward struggling to find the back of the net this season, it’s hard to see the Red Wings getting peak value for him, especially when the market is limited by teams already in playoff contention. Granted, it helps that he would not be a pure rental since he has RFA years remaining on his deal, but by June, nearly every team should be in position to add, with no free agents tying up their money just yet.

That kind of move would hurt Detroit in the short run, of course, as it takes another one of its few offensive weapons away from a team that already doesn’t score enough. And the Red Wings can’t afford to get stiffed on an Athanasiou trade for that reason. But if they don’t trade him before next season, they’ll either have to pay him with term or brace for the possibility he walks away as an unrestricted free agent in two summers. Bridging isn’t really an option for that reason. He’s also one of the few realistic pieces who could bring the team a meaningful return, so as long as teams don’t panic too much about the goals drop-off, it’s easy to see the incentive for the front office to make a move by midsummer.

 

[ricky0034]

I gotta say the "AA is struggling" narrative a lot of people are selling is pretty overstated

he's got a 0.53 PPG this year compared to his 0.71 last year which is a bit down(but still higher than the 0.46,0.45 he had the previous two years) but he's also got a really low 5.7 shooting percentage

if that was even at his career average(so still lower than last year) he would have twice as many goals right now and be at a 0.67 PPG on a really bad team,and he'd have a 0.72 PPG right now if his shooting percentage was the same as it was last year(so actually slightly higher than last year)

 

[Bench]

You're probably thinking of eva unit zero. Looks like he deleted his account.

 

[Winger98]

What's made the Wings the worst team of the cap era is the fact that there is a gap between when their young guys are ready to carry the banner and the stars that kept them afloat died in an NHL sense and that they basically drew an 0-fer for the draft from 2005-2011. Fabbri-AA-Mantha would not be a good line. That's three wingers. AA is a ****ty center. If he wasn't, they wouldn't have signed Filppula nor would they try to keep Frans Nielsen there.

Ding, ding, ding. Perfect. It's a damn good comparison because Inge had his profile inflated by a career year (27 bombs, high .200s BA) and then clearly declined horribly. People who loved him overlooked the massive decline until it was SO bad that he couldn't reach the Mendoza line.

AA had a reputation as a bad center. I still think he showed enough over the last couple of months last season to be given a longer look at it this year. And with how this year has played out, I'm not sure what the Wings have to lose to try him there again. It's not like he can tank his trade value much further.

That wasn't Inge's career year. Inge had the high BA early, but was only hitting in the .230s when he hit 27 homers. Inge's massive decline was only over the last three years of his career, and only one of those was entirely with Detroit (he was dealt the next season after playing 9 games). The guy was a good player for the majority of his career.

More AA trade thoughts from Bultman:

Having teams not freak out over the lack of goal scoring isn't a small thing. I'd be tempted to see what a longish term deal with AA would look like. I just don't think the market will be there to support a deal, and I don't want to sell low on him.

 

[Frk It]

You're probably thinking of eva unit zero. Looks like he deleted his account.

There’s a blast from the past.

I think either @vladdy16 or @RedMenace were another big Hudler supporter as well... but maybe I’m remembering that wrong.

 

[NickH8]

I don’t know if this is the right thread to post this in, but anyone have any interest in Zacha(njd) or Wennberg(CBJ) if the price is right? Just curious on people’s thoughts

Any player that is young and has similar point totals I'd probably do it for lol.

 

[Henkka]

I think one thing a smart GM like Yzerman is keenly aware of though, is that AA's value could be a lot less a year from now if he's kept around and continues to disappoint.

Just did the same from the Athletic. Many teams want now a 2nd year instead of rentals. So if there's another RFA year left, it has a lot more value.

It will also put Helm and Glendening on the new light. Maybe Nemeth too.

 

[ArmChairGM89]

A lot of people saying “don’t trade him at his lowest value.” How do we know this is his lowest value? If this continues through the end of the year and then into next year with a new contract, would that not be lower value? Every day that you hold onto him praying for a rebound and that Rebound doesn’t come, his value drops.

There’s just as good a chance that this is his highest value as there is that it’s his lowest. unless you have access to a time machine.

 

[Bench]

AA never scores 30 goals again. Change my mind.

 

[Winger98]

A lot of people saying “don’t trade him at his lowest value.” How do we know this is his lowest value? If this continues through the end of the year and then into next year with a new contract, would that not be lower value? Every day that you hold onto him praying for a rebound and that Rebound doesn’t come, his value drops.

There’s just as good a chance that this is his highest value as there is that it’s his lowest. unless you have access to a time machine.

It depends what teams are willing to offer right now. I've seen lists of some D that could be available and what not, but I'm guessing teams aren't looking to part with anything decent or reasonable for AA right now. And unless we're taking salary back, I don't think we get much back at the draft or whenever, either.

If Yzerman can pull something legit from another team (like a 1st) then, yeah, do it. A 2nd or 3rd rounder, though? I'd rather just roll the dice on Athanasiou becoming more of an impact player again.

 

[Frk It]

A lot of people saying “don’t trade him at his lowest value.” How do we know this is his lowest value? If this continues through the end of the year and then into next year with a new contract, would that not be lower value? Every day that you hold onto him praying for a rebound and that Rebound doesn’t come, his value drops.

There’s just as good a chance that this is his highest value as there is that it’s his lowest. unless you have access to a time machine.

Well, I have a hard time seeing the team being worse. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been healthy at all this year so far really.

So I would much rather be patient and wait until he has recouped some value.