The Detroit Red Wings made a ton of progress this past season despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This summer, general manager Steve Yzerman looks to build upon that progress by adding a lethal scoring threat to his roster. Michigan native Alex DeBrincat is a popular name linked to the Red Wings in the rumor mill. However, he is not the only one.
The Red Wings are reportedly interested in Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. Detroit has held some trade discussions with the Flyers about the 26-year-old winger.
Konecny makes a ton of sense for the Red Wings. This past season, the Flyers star scored a career-high 31 goals and 61 points in 60 games for a bad Philadelphia team. He has two years left on his contract at a $5.5 million cap hit.
The big worry about Konecny is his durability. The 26-year-old has played more than 75 games just three times in his career. Furthermore, he has played less than 70 games in three of the last four seasons.
However, he is clearly a scoring threat when he's healthy. And Detroit needs all the skill they can get. If the Red Wings can help keep Konecny healthy, this would be a home run acquisition.
What a Travis Konecny trade would cost Detroit remains to be seen. However, the Red Wings own two first-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Furthermore, they have three consecutive picks in the second round. And the Red Wings own the Boston Bruins 2024 first-round pick.
Yzerman wants to add a big-time scoring option at some point this offseason. Let's see if he's able to land his coveted sniper before the 2023 NHL Draft coming up next Wednesday.