Red Wings fighting to stay together ahead of trade deadline

After a seven-year absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings are poised to make a comeback as they head toward the trade deadline.

The Red Wings have skyrocketed up the Eastern Conference standings, winning seven of their past eight games to find themselves tied with the Florida Panthers for the final playoff spot with 64 points and three games in hand.

[It's a] different vibe," head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters after Thursday's 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers. "The guys want it so bad. They've worked so hard to put themselves in a situation like this."

In the months leading up to the trade deadline, the vibe around the Red Wings was that they could be selling as they struggled to get into the playoff race. However, their recent stretch has changed the outlook of the team within their own organization and across the NHL.

Leading the Red Wings is captain Dylan Larkin and forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

Larkin, 26, leads the Red Wings with 22 goals and 57 points in 56 games and has seven goals and 13 points in the team’s past eight games, leading him to being named one of the NHL’s Three Stars of the week.

The Waterford, Mich., native is on the final year of his five-year, $30.5 million deal and the two sides have been trying to work out an extension over the past few months. Should extension talks break down, Larkin has a full no-movement clause that gives him full control of his destiny for the rest of the season.

Bertuzzi, 28, has only appeared in 26 games this season due to injuries and has three goals and 10 points. His name had been bandied about in trade talks prior to the Red Wings’ hot stretch but that has been put on pause after registering a goal and eight points in the past eight games.

“Soon we’re going to pull names off the Trade Bait list, including Tyler Bertuzzi of the Red Wings. Now, the decision has been made, unless something goes horribly wrong this week and leading up to the March 3 trade deadline, that they want to give this group in Detroit the opportunity to really push hard for the playoffs,” TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said on Insider Trading on Tuesday.

“They’re willing to take their chances on a contract extension with Bertuzzi on July 1. Again, a lot can change between now and March 3. But the Red Wings are trying to lock down a playoff spot.”

The threat of the looming trade deadline added extra motivation for the Red Wings’ locker room, who want an opportunity to prove that they can compete in the Eastern Conference.

“We were like, ‘If we’re going to make a push, this is the time to do it,’ and the timing is great with the trade deadline one week away,” forward Andrew Copp told reporters on Thursday. “We all know what that means.”

“We just go day by day right now,” goaltender Ville Husso said on Tuesday. “We know we can win in this league, and we have the team that can win. It’s just day by day, have fun and move on.”