NHL Trade Rumors: Are the Leafs and Wings About to Make a Deal?

The Detroit Red Wings announced yesterday that all-star center Pavel Datsyuk will miss up to three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Should the Wings look to replace Datsyuk, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have the piece they need.

During a February 21 podcast, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet.ca suggested that Toronto GM Brian Burke may decide to move pending unrestricted free agent center Mikhail Grabovski if he is unable to re-sign him to an extension. 

The sticking point in contract negotiations seems to be the price. It has been rumored that Grabovski is seeking a substantial raise in yearly salary that would see him earn somewhere north of $5 million per season (he currently earns $2.9 million). 

Considering the Leafs are desperate to make the playoffs this year, management would prefer to keep Grabovski in the fold. But, if a new contract fails to be signed prior to the February 27 NHL trade deadline, Burke may decide to pull the trigger and trade his center while the return is high.  

While Marek did not speculate the details of a possible trade, a few days ago TSN's Darren Dreger reported that the Leafs have received an offer for Graboski that would see them receive a prospect and a second-round pick in return.

It is unconfirmed which team made the offer, but according to Marek, Detroit may have interest in acquiring Grabovski's services to fill the void left by Datsyuk.

Please, don't get the wrong idea. Nobody is suggesting that Grabovski is even comparable to Datsyuk in the slightest.

The current Leafs center will be unable to provide the Wings the value that Datsyuk has, but in fairness to Grabovski, no other player in the NHL could.

The question is not whether Grabovski could fill Datsyuk's skates, but whether or not he would be a good short-term replacement at the center position for Detroit.

If his history of play in Toronto over the past two seasons is any indication then the answer is yes.

Grabovski provides speed and skill down the middle and, at times, is a similar player to Datsyuk in terms of creativity. Moreover, he could prove to be a significant depth acquisition should the Wings make a deep playoff run.

Is there a deal in the works between two future Winter Classic foes?

With less than one week before the NHL trade deadline, we shall have our answer soon enough.

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