Stuart Traded To Sharks

It was pretty clear that the San Jose Sharks would end up with defensman Brad Stuart. He'd made it clear to Detroit that his interest was to play closer to home where his family resided and San Jose would have been his destination of choice come July 1. Detroit was wise enough to recognize the inevitable.

Detroit got the ball rolling today by trading Stuart's rights to San Jose for Shark forward Andrew Murray and a late round draft selection. This gives San Jose a window to negotiate with Stuart on a new contract before July 1 and Detroit a chance to pick up a couple assets while they make plans for life without Stuart.

With the writing on the wall, what that meant for Detroit was that there would be a real need to bolster their blue line. The retirement of Lidstrom and the loss of Stuart creates a large gap for the Red Wings that will need to be filled. Many expect Justin Schultz and Ryan Suter to be the main two targets.

Recently however news broke that Suter and the Preds are making ground toward a new contract. Nothing is final yet, but the two sides are closer than they've been at any point in the negotiations.

Will Suter wait for Detroit to offer big bucks and then see what Nashville is willing to throw back to match? Or will Suter stay where it seems his heart is and remain in Nashville.

It looks as though Detroit will be a team to watch come July 1 and perhaps as soon as the draft on some rights trading. Dennis Wiedman might be someone Detroit looks to snatch up before the UFA market opens. Making a swap with Washington could be a definite possibility.