Red Wings and St Louis Complete Big Trade

The Detroit Red Wings and St Louis Blues have completed a deadline deal as the Wings have sent defenseman Nick Leddy to the Blues.

Hearing #stlblues are getting Nick Leddy from #LGRW

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2022

Leddy was on our list of top-3 candidates to be moved today as Detroit had been discussing his name with several teams and ultimately liked what they saw out of the return from the Blues.  The 31-year-old offensive defenseman is a pending unrestricted free agent, carrying a $5.5 million cap hit and we'll likely see Detroit retain some money in the trade to sweeten their return. So far in 55 games, Leddy has recorded 16 points and is as experienced as they come with over 120 Stanley Cup playoff games.

The Blues were tied to Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes for the past several weeks however when the Coyotes made it clear they weren't moving the young defenseman without at least two first-round picks included, St Louis started looking the other way.

UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today acquired defenseman Jake Walman, center Oskar Sundqvist, and a 2nd round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defensemen Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski. pic.twitter.com/JC8CupZ5wH

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 21, 2022

Interesting return here indeed, as Sundqvist is under contract for another season at $2.75 million, meanwhile Walman is a pending restricted free agent who makes $725,000 against the cap. 

Photo crdit:  Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sport