Red Wings Could Trade J.T. Compher, Michael Rasmussen

Extending their playoff drought to 10 years this season, there are plenty of changes expected for the Detroit Red Wings this summer, particularly to the team’s bottom-six. Outside of letting a few of their pending unrestricted free agents walk, Max Bultman of The Athletic argues that J.T. Compher and Michael Rasmussen are candidates to be traded this summer.

Compher, 31, will be entering year four of a five-year, $25.5MM contract signed in Detroit ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. The Red Wings had already signed Andrew Copp the previous offseason, but he hadn’t (and still hasn’t by many metrics) become the second-line center that Detroit believed he would be.

At the time, the thought process was that Compher would continue his upward trajectory. He was coming off a solid year with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 17 goals and 52 points in 82 games with a 48.8% success rate in the faceoff dot. Some will argue that since the Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri the year before, Compher was moved to the top six in Colorado based on circumstance and benefited from having stronger wingers next to him.

Nevertheless, that’s not necessarily accurate. The Avalanche faced numerous injuries during the 2022-23 season, leading to a fluid lineup on most nights. Still, Compher spent most of the year next to Andrew Cogliano and Logan O’Connor, not necessarily All-Star candidates.

He had a strong start to his tenure in Detroit, scoring 19 goals and 48 points in 77 games with a -5 rating, averaging 19:23 of ice time. However, since then, he has been absent on most nights, scoring 22 goals and 60 points in 158 games with a -20 rating, averaging 16:09 of ice time. He has a relatively solid 48.0% faceoff rate in that stretch, and starts most of his shifts in the defensive zone.

Meanwhile, Rasmussen has had a similar trajectory. He topped out with a 13-goal, 33-point performance in 75 games during the 2023-24 season, but hasn’t gotten close since. In the last two years, the former ninth overall selection has registered 17 goals and 35 points in 141 games, usually playing on Detroit’s third line.

Standing at 6’6″, 222 lbs, Rasmussen is definitely a big body to have toward the bottom of the forward corps, but has not turned into the reliable power forward the Red Wings thought he would become when they drafted him. He doesn’t have the defensive metrics to warrant him playing in big situations, and if he isn’t scoring 15-20 goals a year, there’s no real point to having him in the lineup on a nightly basis. Like Compher, Rasmussen is signed for the next two years, albeit for a smaller $3.2MM cap hit.

As to what the Red Wings will target is anyone’s guess. Compher does have some trade protection (10-team no-trade list), but it’s not an insurmountable hurdle. If Detroit’s primary goal is to unload contracts and replace them with younger players, the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, and Vancouver Canucks may be interested in enhancing their bottom-six in the short term. However, the Devils would face significant financial constraints.

Additionally, the Red Wings could package both in a larger trade, along with other assets such as a prospect or two and their 2027 first-round pick, for a much larger splash. It’s not uncommon for teams to attach a veteran (Compher), a flyer (Rasmussen), and a prospect plus draft capital to get a trade over the line.