The Left Wing Lock

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The Red Wings bolstered their blueline Wednesday by re-acquiring Kyle Quincey for a 2012 first round draft selection and prospect Sebastien Piche. The Wings lost the 6-foot-2, 206 pound defenseman in 2008 after he lost a training camp battle for the seventh and final roster spot to Derek Meech. Quincey, who was Detroit’s fourth round draft selection in the 2003 NHL entry draft, most notably saw 13 games of playoff action during the 2007 playoff run playing his steady physical game and earning the trust of the Red Wings coaching staff.

Unfortunately for Quincey, he was never able to recapture that level of play while in Detroit and he was eventually waived after a lackluster training camp in 2008. The hope was that he would go to Grand Rapids for another season of development, but the LA Kings made a claim and eventually used him in 72 regular season games. Following an off-season trade to Colorado, Quincey would go on to be a staple on the Avalanche blueline over the next three seasons playing in all situations.

With the acquisition of the 26 year-old defenseman, Detroit now has blue line depth that is eight strong. Eventually the Wings will need to make a roster move to get under the 23 man roster limit, but don’t expect that move to involve Jakub Kindl. The 6-foot-3, 210 pound blueliner started strong for the Red Wings earning a top six roster spot out of training camp, but seems to have lost some of his confidence midway through the season and his seen play tail off from the strong start. Up until the trade for Quincey, Kindl and Mike Commodore were fighting for playing with Kindl getting the slight edge on most nights. The arrival of Quincey means that the top six is now set and won’t include Kindl or Commodore on most nights.

While Kindl’s inconsistent play has been frustrating for the Red Wings management and coaching staff, they won’t move the 25 year-old unless the return is high. A lot of time and resources have been invested into developing the 19th overall selection in the 2005 NHL draft. Even though he likely won’t be playing regularly for the remainder of this season, Kindl still fits into Detroit’s long term plans as they still believe he can develop into a puck moving defenseman. The acquisition of Quincey should add needed competition to the roster while also ensuring adequate depth for a long playoff run.

The Red Wings clearly learned a lesson from losing Quincey on waivers and watching him blossom with other NHL teams the past few seasons. The decision to waive Quincey was based on a single training camp performance instead of the long term potential of player development and it eventually allowed other teams to benefit from their player development. While Kindl hasn’t shown he’s ready for the grind of a long playoff run, he has displayed flashes of what he can bring at the NHL level. The hope is that given more time and development, he could improve his consistency and confidence. Kindl’s perceived NHL potential combined with the Red Wings fear of repeating past mistakes will likely keep him in Detroit and eventually spell the end to Commodore’s tenure.