Looks like we can add the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens to the Patrick Sharp sweepstakes. With the Chicago Blackhawks‘ star winger “in play” as the trade deadline nears on March 2, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Red Wings, along with the Capitals, are interested in Sharp’s services.
The Canadiens are also interested, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, giving us three top suitors for Sharp in the coming days.
The news that Washington is interested in Sharp is nothing new, but this is the first we’ve heard of Detroit and Montreal also pursuing the talented winger. The Red Wings are clearly in win-now mode with the careers of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg winding down, and Sharp could give the team some extra offensive punch as it seeks to make one more run.
Montreal, meanwhile, could obviously use some scoring to pair with a strong defense and goaltender Carey Price. Sharp, even in a down year, would be fifth on the Canadiens in points per game, behind the team’s core of Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk.
It would be hard to swallow one of the team’s longtime great players heading to the rival Red Wings, however, even though it’s clear the Blackhawks are looking at suitors from the Eastern Conference. That makes sense — nobody wants to help the fellow Western Conference contenders — but it, along with Sharp’s partial no-movement clause, limits the possibilities.
Like with Sharp and the Capitals, it’s hard to say whether talks with either Detroit and Montreal have progressed at all or it’s simply teams trying to gain leverage, but it’s pretty clear Bowman is considering trading Sharp. We don’t usually hear rumors this substantive on a player given how close to the vest the organization keeps its work. Still, even if it’s a long shot before the end of the regular season, we’ll probably keep hearing more whispers until March 2 passes.