With Zach Parise off to the Minnesota Wild, the Detroit Red Wings have officially moved on to their backup plan for adding another top-six forward to the team. What exactly is the backup plan is unclear at this point. Among the possibilities are a trade for Rick Nash, a trade for Bobby Ryan and simply signing Alexander Semin.
There is also the idea of signing Shane Doan. The Free Press' Helene St. James reports that Detroit will "take a run" at him, but the caveat is it's not known if he will be open to the idea of leaving the Phoenix Coyotes. We will know more next week, but one interesting thing we know right now is that his agent is already seeking an offer from Detroit in case Doan does opt to leave the Coyotes, according to MLive's Ansar Khan.
The power forward's agent has called the Red Wings several times the past couple of days, seeking an offer, and with Parise off the market, Detroit will make a pitch for Doan. However, Doan has stated he won't decide until Monday if he will leave Phoenix, where he has played since 1996. His main concern is whether the team will relocate in 2013-14 due to the unstable ownership situation. Ultimately, many expect he will stay in Phoenix.
If Doan does decide to depart from the Coyotes franchise, the Red Wings seem like an ideal landing spot for him. He would be joining a franchise that is no stranger to taking on veteran guys late in their career, and the Red Wings would be getting a guy who can still play and would upgrade their forward depth.
To me, I would much rather the Red Wings pursue Doan or Semin before considering a trade for Nash. Nash is a talented player, but the chances of the Red Wings actually being able to pull off a trade without having their roster ransacked aren't high. A deal for Nash just seems like a lost cause at this point.
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