Giguere to Detroit?

The hockey rumor mill has begun to churn as the GM meetings began in Toronto, and luckily for us J.S. Giguere is one of the more interesting players being discussed. We’ve all heard about the trade rumors of Giguere going to Toronto and how it’s almost a perfect match for the two teams. But there’s a new team rumored to be in the mix: Detroit.

There are so many initial reactions to hearing that Detroit would be interested in Giguere that I don’t even know where to start. So, I’ll just start at the beginning.

The Red Wings first got a glimpse of the amazing play of Giguere in the 2003 playoffs, the year Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Giguere turned away 63 shots in the first game of the series against Detroit before going on to sweep the Wings in an impressive series victory.

More recently, Giguere and the Ducks were again able to defeat the Red Wings in the playoffs, this time in 2007 on their way to the Stanley Cup. Giguere didn’t win the Conn Smythe Trophy that year, but he could have. In fact, many Ducks could have, but Giguere was the goalie that led them there.

The two teams also played in 2009’s playoffs, but Jonas Hiller was the Ducks’ starting goalie at the time. Still, Giguere was waiting patiently on the bench, watching his team and Detroit’s battle out a seven game series that was one of the most entertaining series in Ducks history.

What I’m trying to say is the Red Wings are very familiar with Giguere and his success. Add to that fact that current Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was the Ducks’ coach in 2003 when Giguere won the Conn Smythe, and you have all kinds of familiarities going on.

Then consider the Wings’ performance this season. They have struggled, just as the Ducks have, and have lost a few players to injury. Their goal-tending tandem of Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard is just not cutting it, and they could surely use an upgrade in net.

So, is this the perfect trade for both teams? Well, there are quite a few things to consider. The first is the salary cap. Detroit is pressed right against the cap and would have an extremely difficult time unloading any of their players, not that they would really want to anyway. Detroit has always built from within while picking up free agents here and there, so trading has never been their preference.

But there are also considerations on the Ducks’ side. Trading a number one goalie to a team within the conference is a hockey no-no, because it typically comes back to bite you in the playoffs. After San Jose traded Miikka Kiprusoff to Calgary, they never made that mistake again, shipping Vesa Toskala to the Maple Leafs. Roberto Luongo flew West from Florida. And Ducks fans can see what happened when Ilya Bryzgalov was put on waivers and picked up within the division.

If the two teams can get past these not-so-minor issues, there is a blockbuster deal to be made. Preliminary names thrown around include Brian Rafalski and Brad Stuart, which makes sense because the Ducks are looking for a top four defenseman. They also make sense because of the salaries each carry, but Stuart’s alone wouldn’t be enough to offset Giguere’s.

Now that we’ve covered the possibilities, let’s discuss what the fans think. Red Wings fans are decidedly split. Some welcome a change and would love to have a motivated Giguere, with Blackhawks and Blue Jackets fans hating the idea of a motivated Giguere coming to the division. Other Red Wings fans think it’s pointless to add a goalie that has no wins and seems to be over the hill. It doesn’t seem like there’s much love for Rafalski on their side, but no one is particularly attached to Stuart either.

Ducks fans, on the other hand, are decidedly in favor of this type of trade. It’s perfect for the Ducks, really. They would be able to unload the large salary owed to Giguere and obtain the defenseman they’ve been looking for since the off-season. If they can land Rafalski, they could effectively make up for the expected retirement of Scott Niedermayer at the end of this season, while reuniting the two who played together in New Jersey for this season.

Ducks fans who are against the trade point to the fact that if the trade comes as a wash in salary, the Ducks will not have the money to re-sign Hiller and Bobby Ryan. But as I mentioned in a previous post, the Ducks will have plenty of money if Niedermayer retires, and there is the potential for Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu moving on as well.

My opinion is that if this trade is available, DO IT. It may come back to bite the Ducks in the behind when they play the Wings, but I still think it will be worth it to build and maintain a team that can be competitive this year and beyond.

What does everyone else think?