Jake Walman (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)

It’s Trade Deadline Day.

For the Detroit Red Wings, anything could happen. There is nothing ruled out as far as the Red Wings go, but leaks aren’t plentiful because of the tight ship that Steve Yzerman runs.

The rest of the league is getting busy, especially the contenders. One team in particular made a deal that has Red Wings fans asking questions.

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At midnight on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks announced a trade involving Jake Walman. The Oilers sent a conditional first-round pick in 2026, along with AHLer Carl Berglund, to the Sharks in exchange for Walman. No salary was retained in the deal.

A lot of Red Wings fans are wondering how on earth this happened.

As if there wasn’t enough salt in the wound already, Walman, who is in the middle of a career season, was moved for much more than the Red Wings did in the summer.

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As a refresher, the Red Wings packaged a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft along with Walman to the Sharks for future considerations.

Future considerations is a nebulous phrase that is basically an official I.O.U. It implies that there will be a deal down the road where the Sharks will send more assets to the Red Wings.

Why wouldn’t the Red Wings try to get more assets for a player who (clearly) has value. The move made little sense at the time, and even less sense in light of this most recent trade.

Certainly, Yzerman has a plan, and he is sticking to it. It’s only a matter of time until that plan is realized.

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