Some quick trade deadline thoughts on Red Wings and Stars after Saturday games

Some scatter shooting thoughts on potential movement.

I’m in New Jersey right now, covering the NHL Stadium Series for the folks at EP Rinkside.

Because the game starts at 8:30 pm, I had chance to watch at least parts of the rest of today’s schedule, including the Dallas Stars 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers and the Detroit Red Wings 5-0 win against the Calgary Flames.

For both games, there were pretty clear NHL trade deadline stories at play.

We’ll start with the Red Wings, where James Reimer’s name has come up a potential deadline acquisition. Last week Daily Faceoff went down this hypothetical path, calling for Detroit to flip Reimer for a mid-round pick and then maybe use that pick to make another trade.

On Saturday, Reimer posted a 38-save shutout against the Flames in his first start since Jan. 14.

You could use that for fodder in a trade article. Or we could go and state the obvious.

Steve Yzerman is going to hoard his goalies this season.

Even before Ville Husso returned and re-injured himself, Yzerman has been committed to the three-goalie roster. Alex Lyon and Reimer both signed with the Red Wings knowing it would be the setup.

For Yzerman, getting a fourth or fifth-round pick for Reimer isn’t enough to sacrifice the insurance policy of having Reimer reader if or when Lyon falters.

OK, onto the Dallas Stars.

Nils Lundkvist is in concussion protocol and Jani Hakanpää left Saturday’s game early with an upper-body ailment.

The Stars play a back-to-back this week on Monday and Tuesday, meaning the Stars will be either playing an AHL call-up, or asking Hakanpää to play through an injury against the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

It will likely be Derrick Pouliot or Alex Petrovic from the Texas Stars.

Pouliot leads Texas in average time on ice, with 22:35 per game, while Petrovic averages 21:26. Both have been fine in the AHL this season, but neither bring a true puck-moving of physical element.

It’s going to put more of a burden on the Stars top-four defenders, particularly Miro Heiskanen, since the Stars this pair could easily be Joel Hanley and another zero-sum defender, that’s best suited to play 12 minutes at most in an NHL game.

Jim Nill is patient to a fault at times, and he’s not going to make a panic trade. At the same time, the injuries the past two games to Lundkvist and Hakanpää would and should justify Nill making some calls.

I’ve brought up Sean Walker before as a potential fit in Dallas. He’s a right-handed defender that could play with either Heiskanen or Thomas Harley and skates well enough to play with either.

Others have bought up Chris Tanev out of Calgary, who could fill a similar role to Walker. Tanev carries the larger name and clout, but I personally would take Walker based on fit in Dallas.

Both are pending UFAs, which comes with risk, but at some point — as Robert Tiffin pointed out in D Magazine — you have to take risks to win the silver chalice.

Nill doesn’t like trading first-round picks, he hates in fact. But this feels like one of those dire moments where the Stars GM has to take that plunge, and have faith that his prospect pool is good enough to make it a year without a first-round selection.