Red Wings acquire Kyle Wood from Carolina for Oliwer Kaski

In yet another one-for-one trade orchestrated by Steve Yzerman, his latest trade involves a swap of AHL defensemen. Thursday afternoon, the team announced the Red Wings have acquired Kyle Wood from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Oliwer Kaski. Both players have spent the season in the AHL.

Heading to Carolina is Kaski, a 24-year-old Finnish defenseman who was signed this offseason by former general manager Ken Holland. Kaski previously played in the top Finnish pro league where he was named league MVP. In 19 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Kaski has amassed 2 goals and 5 points. He spent the first quarter of the season rotating into the lineup, rather than holding a permanent role.

Seeing as Madison Bowey and Dennis Cholowski have been assigned to Grand Rapids in the past week, Kaski was likely to be bump out of the lineup once again. Playing time was already scarce. So the timing of this trade makes sense.

Heading back to Detroit is Wood, a 23-year-old, 6’7” blue-liner who has been playing with Charlotte of the AHL. Wood produced 5 points, the same as Kaski, in 5 less games. A third round pick in 2014, he enjoyed a promising rookie season as a first year pro with Tucson, scoring 43 points in 68 games.

Wood is likely to remain with the Griffins, primarily to serve in a physical role. This deal most likely will have little impact on the parent club.