NHL Trade Rumors: Detroit Red Wings Could Be Wheeling and Dealing at Deadline

The Detroit Red Wings are the biggest name in the NHL as far as organizations are concerned, and come this year's trade deadline, they very well may be one of the biggest names moving pieces around.

At 25-13-1, the Wings are just a loss behind the Chicago Blackhawks in the Central Division and are fourth in the Western Conference.

They rank third in the league with an average of 3.3 goals per game and rank fifth with only 2.3 against.

The main reason for Detroit's success has to be goaltender Jimmy Howard, who has answered many of his critics this season and notched a 24-9-1 record with a 1.99 goals against average and a .927 save percentage.

Howard has been unbelievable, but the Wings have also benefited from the 16 goals, 17 assists and 33 points from Johan Franzen, and the 12 goals, 28 assists and 40 points off the stick of Pavel Datsyuk.

This is a team that's set to make a run into the playoffs. They have the skill, they have the goaltending and they definitely have the experience.

Do they need more, though?

Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News believes the Red Wings could be major players at the trade deadline:

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The Red Wings have wiggle room to be major players at the trade deadline (Feb. 28) — be it another forward with size or scoring ability (Carolina'sTuomo Ruutu or Edmonton's Ales Hemsky ), a defenseman (Carolina's Bryan Allen) or backup goaltender (New York Islanders Evgeni Nabokov).

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The Wings know all about playoff runs, which means they understand what it takes to win a Stanley Cup in the NHL.

Sure, scoring is always going to be primary, but the Wings know that depth, defense and goaltending win you Stanley Cups.

These are all things they can address via trade, specifically the possibility of bringing in Nabokov to backup Howard in net.

Having two legitimate goalies is something that is becoming a necessity more than a luxury in the NHL playoffs, but it may be even more important as the season winds down.

Teams want to keep their starter fresh but also get the backup acclimated to playing.

Howard has played a ton this season already, and having a backup capable of winnings games for this team down the stretch would go a long ways in Detroit.

Obviously, there is still plenty of time before all the trade rumors really start heating up, but either way, look for Detroit to be a big player.