The Detroit Red Wings are no stranger to problem-solving.
During the 2020-21 season, they played suitor to two team’s cap woes: the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. For the former, they retained 50% of David Savard’s cap space in exchange for a fourth round pick. From the latter, they took on Richard Panik for a second round pick (or a first, depending on how much the Caps valued the space). At the time, Detroit was nowhere close to contention. They were well out of the playoff picture and were more than comfortable earning as many assets as possible.