Red Wings acquire Adam Erne for draft pick

In what has been a very quiet offseason for the Red Wings, their first notable move since the opening days of unrestricted free agency transpired Wednesday afternoon. The team has acquired forward Adam Erne from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2020 4th round pick.

Erne, 24, is currently a restricted free-agent. I’d imagine we hear about an extension relatively soon, considering the Red Wings have no other players in need of a contract. This past season Erne scored 7 goals and 20 points in 63 games.

So what does all this mean? Detroit’s bottom-6 is already overflowing with non-impact talent with a plethora of young forwards on the cusp of breaking through. It seems as though Erne is a quality player in his own end  with some penalty kill upside, and the general consensus from Tampa Bay fans is moving on from the winger was the wrong decision. Steve Yzerman obviously got a first hand look at Erne from his time in Tampa, having drafted him in 2013 and watching him develop into a solid NHL player.

Important to note is Yzerman mentioned he was interested in bringing in another forward, following the Valtteri Filppula and Patrik Nemeth signings. He wanted someone who would fit into their vision, rather than just sign someone to sign someone. So it really is no surprise he made this move, especially with his former colleague in Julien BriseBois.

This trade sets up for an intriguing training camp. The amount of players they have on the bubble is staggering. With only so many roster spots available, take your pick at who nabs the final spots: Jacob De la Rose, Christoffer Ehn, Taro Hirose, Michael Rasmussen, Evgeny Svechnikov, Joe Veleno, Filip Zadina, and Erne. From this group I’m fairly confident to say De la Rose time in Detroit is done, whether their breakup be through demotion to the AHL or being claimed off waivers.

With all this uncertainty, I’m scared to ask…is it October yet?