The Detroit Red Wings have to be happy with how well Jake Walman has performed since around the holiday season. He has seemingly taken a step up and got things going in the right direction at the perfect time for the Red Wings.
Detroit Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman has to be thrilled with how well things have gone for Walman during the 2022-23 season. This rings true for a few reasons. First, he dumped Nick Leddy in that trade last year when he brought in Walman and forward Oskar Sundqvist, who’s adjusted in his own right.
But, more importantly, Walman is an unrestricted free agent beyond this season, which gives the Red Wings options. Yzerman has to be happy that Walman’s figuring things out with his performance because he could quickly become a trade chip.
Finally, if Yzerman feels like Walman fits the scheme here in Detroit, he will have even more reason to hang onto him and try to knock out an extension for the upcoming seasons.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman’s performance keeps blooming.
Walman, a 26-year-old defender, has blossomed as the team’s top-four defenseman. He has started to really find his footing, and it has begun to pay off. In his first full season with Red Wings, he has played in 23 games where he has four goals and two assists for six points.
Over his last ten games played with the Red Wings, Walman has collected five points, which is all but one point from what he has registered all season. Overall on the season, Walman is a plus-14 which speaks even further to his abilities lately.
Walman has started to embody some offense in his game, and it’s a great thing for the Red Wings. He continues to help create offense from the blue line. While his overtime heroics and “Ice Griddy” got Red Wings fans buzzing across social media, his performance has backed things up as well.
This season and during his tenure with the Red Wings, he has averaged 17:41 of ice time which is well above what he managed during his time in St. Louis. Walman being able to handle a second-pairing workload and find success is a good thing.
As mentioned early on, Yzerman has options. With Walman being able to get his performance moving in the right direction and cement a role with the Red Wings, it leaves a decision to be made.
While the trade deadline is not entirely on the horizon, Walman being trade bait could happen based on his surging performance. Even a bit further than that, he is pushing himself into the contract extension conversation, which might work out swimmingly if it’s an efficient deal.