Is Stamkos Enough?

It was supposed to be Austin Matthew’s night to shine, but Ken Holland stole the show. Teams had previously been asking for a top young prospect in exchange for Pavel Datsyuk's 7.5 million dollar cap hit. Thankfully on draft night Ken Holland was fortunate  to have Jahob Chychrun, previously the #2 prospect in the draft, slide to the sixteenth pick. Holland took advantage of that luck, flipping the pick and Datsyuk to Arizona for the 20th pick, a second rounder and injured Joe Vitale. Freeing up 7.5 million dollars in cap space made the Detroit Red Wings the front runners in the Steven Stamkos sweepstakes.

Assuming the Wings sign Stamkos to a 7 year deal worth about 70 million dollars, they will have an elite scoring center for 27-33 year old seasons. While players peak scoring is around 26 we can expect Stamkos to see only a moderate decline during these years, making the contract relatively fair for the open market. However the Red Wings lost a top line center in Pavel Datsyuk, so at best this would only be a slight upgrade for a Wings team that is unable to get past the first round of the playoffs.

Some improvement from within are sure to be expected, particularly if Blashill implements his system and allows the young players an opportunity to shine. Another full season for Dylan Larkin as well as a larger role for Mantha and Athanasiou should provide a boost in the arm for the Red Wing offense. However as it has been since Lidstrom retired, the defense remains a concern.

A healthy Niklas Kronwall would be a huge benefit, despite being past his prime he can still play in the top 4 when healthy. The Wings could also improve by giving more minutes to Green and Smith, who have dominated sheltered minutes, and less to Ericsson, who struggles against the league’s best. However ever with the best pairings the team lacks a defender capable of carrying a mediocre defensive group during the playoffs as Letang did to Pittsburgh.

Kevin Shattenkirk is the only top defenceman available so the price is extremely high. However trading away young forwards (Jurco, Pulkkinen or even Nyquist) to get him would be much more palatable if Stamkos is on the team. Together Shattenkirk and Stamkos would make the team an immediate contender in the Eastern Conference. While signing Shattenkirk to an extension could be challenging, the team could entice the expansion team in Las Vegas to take Mike Green or trade Howard next season to free up space for the deal.

Stamkos is an elite player but he cannot turn Detroit into a contender by himself. If the team really wants to be in the same class as Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Washington, Detroit will have to find a way to bring in Stamkos and a top defenceman to match.