• The 2025 NHL trade deadline is 3 p.m. Friday, just ahead of the Red Wings’ game against the Washington Capitals.
• The Red Wings have two main needs: A center to replace injured Andrew Copp, and a defenseman to replace injured Jeff Petry.
• The Wings aren’t in position to surrender top young players or prospects and still need their first-round picks to advance the rebuild.

Patrick Kane remembers being in a hotel room and spending an entire day trying to decide what to do.

The NHL trade deadline — which arrives this year Friday at 3 p.m. — can be a stressful time around the league. General managers, like the Detroit Red Wings’ Steve Yzerman, are trying to fill needs: In his case, depth on defense and at center. Some players, like Kane in February 2023, are debating whether to go to a new team — provided they have the gravitas in the first place to demand control over any trade deal.

“Even if your name isn’t involved, you definitely pay attention this time of year,” Kane said.

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Those paying attention Thursday afternoon would have seen the departure of now ex-Wings forward Christian Fischer, who was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. A minor move, but it cleared out a player who no longer really fit into the Wings’ picture.

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Instead, Carter Mazur, a 2021 draft pick, is being given a chance to see if he can provide a bit of a spark. But he’s 22, and new to the NHL. This time of year, it’s usually about adding experience.

The Wings lost two players who had a lot of that over the past two months. At the start of January, veteran defenseman Jeff Petry sustained an undisclosed injury for which he ended up undergoing surgery in early February, with an expected recovery time of 6-8 weeks. That has left William Lagesson, a 29-year-old who has appeared in 102 career NHL games, getting ice time — and, in turn, has put pressure on Yzerman to bring in someone new.

The other big injury came on Feb. 22, when Andrew Copp rushed into a scrum and ended up tearing his left pectoral muscle, leading to surgery a few days later, with a recovery period of 4-6 months. J.T. Compher stepped into the second-line center spot, and Marco Kasper was moved off the wing to play his natural center position — but again, if Yzerman could trade for a center, it would ease the concerns over depth.

What makes a trade hard is that of course, an asset has to be given up in return. The Wings aren’t in position to surrender top young players or prospects and still need their first-round picks to advance the rebuild. But after eight years of not making the playoffs, and with the Wings starting the week of the trade deadline inside the playoff picture, there’s increased pressure on Yzerman to make a move.

As for Kane, he usually naps from 1:45-3:45 p.m. on game days, and figures to sleep fine Friday afternoon in advance of the Wings’ game at the Washington Capitals. It was a different story as the trade deadline neared in 2023. His Chicago Blackhawks were in decline, and after spending an entire day in his hotel room in San Jose, California, mulling what to do, Kane decided to greenlight a trade to the New York Rangers.

Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.