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Holland On Trades: 'I Like The Price We Paid'

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - Leading up to Monday's trade deadline, the Detroit Red Wings acquired right wing Erik Cole from the Dallas Stars and defenseman Marek Zidlicky of the New Jersey Devils. Neither move made much of a splash - at least not like the addition of pricey Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf would have -  but Red Wings general manager Ken Holland described the transactions as upgrades achieved in ways that will not hamper the franchise much in the future.

From the Stars, the Red Wings received Cole and a conditional third-round pick in 2015 for center Mattias Janmark, defenseman Mattias Backman and their second-round pick in 2015. From the Devils, the Red Wings got Zidlicky for a conditional third-round pick in 2016.

"I feel good that we're going to the draft with our first pick this year, with our first pick next year and, unless we go to the final four, we've got our second-round pick next year and we're only going back a few picks in the draft this year, and we traded some kids that I think have a chance to play in the National Hockey League but both have been in Grand Rapids," Holland said Monday at Joe Louis Arena. "When we looked at our depth chart, you've got to give something to make a move, and in order to protect the second-round picks, to protect the first-round picks, we kind of created what we did create.

"We want to win the Stanley Cup, but also to have an eye towards the draft, an eye towards next year and an eye towards going forward if the moves that we make, if we're one of the good teams that are on the sideline after the first or second round, we go to the draft and we're going to, for the most part, the next two years, pick in the top two rounds," Holland added, "so that's how we put these deals together."

Cole has 18 goals and 15 assists over 57 games this season, and Zidlicky has four goals and 19 assists in 63 games this season. Holland said it will be on head coach Mike Babcock, who was not made available to media Monday, to determine how Cole and Zidlicky will be used.

"Ultimately my feeling is as a manager [I] to try to bring in the group of players that give you a chance to win, and that's now Mike Babcock and his coaching staff," Holland added, "to figure out exactly how they all fit and how we can get the most out of those players ... chemistry-wise, and who should be in the lineup, who should play where, who should play in what situation, so we'll see what Mike decides here."

Babcock's desire for a right-handed shot had long been discussed, and while Zidlicky fits that bill, Holland noted that the Red Wings have done well on the power play even without such player. Detroit leads the NHL in that category, converting on 25 percent of its chances.

"Mike Babcock likes ideally righties and lefties, combinations," Holland said. "Part of it was for the power play. As we sit today, I don't know if we're still number one in the league on the power play, but we are one of the top teams in the league in the power play percentage, so Mike Babcock and his coaching staff have figured out a different way to be successful in the power play without having a right shot ... Obviously Zidlicky plays right, he's played the power play wherever he's gone, Minnesota, Nashville, and in New Jersey."

The Red Wings, with a record of 35-15-11, are third in the Atlantic Division with 81 points, which puts them tied for fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. As well as Detroit has played, and as fortunate as the group has been so far in terms of health, Holland did not believe the team needed any particularly dramatic changes.

"Really looking back at the last two months, when we had to play five home games and 17 on the road and played a lot of the top teams in the National Hockey League, the growth of our team and the growth of our younger players I guess sent a message, to me at least, that we've got a good team," Holland said. "We're right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference, and if we could add a piece or two leading up to the deadline to make us a little deeper, a little better prepared for a playoff series at a price that we could live with, we wanted to do it."

Holland would not confirm the Red Wings had pursued Phaneuf, saying he could not talk about another team's player, but he did note he talked to almost every team in the league about trade possibilities.

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