James van Riemsdyk was one of the bigger names on the trade bait board and headed into the final moments of the NHL Trade Deadline, the Detroit Red Wings had potentially found a replacement for Tyler Bertuzzi by acquiring the forward. It was a confusing report considering JVR is a pending UFA and it’s not clear if the Red Wings are going to try and re-sign the player. So too, the team is not necessarily making a playoff push, even if they’re only five points out of the race.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that the Detroit Red Wings was going to land the forward, pending a physical and a trade call. That trade call never came. News then broke that something fell apart between the two teams and that perhaps the Red Wings pulled out of the deal. That is, assuming, there was ever a deal actually done.
Vegas, Winnipeg and Seattle were rumored to be among those with the most interest in van Riemsdyk. The Red Wings were never really considered a part of the discussion, at least not by insiders leading into trade deadline day. Calgary had inquired too, but the Flames stayed relatively quiet considering their odds of making the postseason.
Pierre LeBrun spoke to Flyers’ GM Chuck Fletcher and quoted him in a tweet following the rumored deal. He wrote: “Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher says he “didn’t receive a firm offer from any team” on JVR. Says they spoke with one team about a trade concept. But it was conditional on that team making another move. And that move didn’t happen. Worked the market hard past few weeks but no fit.”
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