Ken Holland paused to consider the question for a moment. Was this his first trade with Steve Yzerman, his former captain and apprentice with the Detroit Red Wings?
There was a Mattias Ritola waiver claim, but that didn't count. Yeah, Holland said, this was it. The biggest deal of the trade deadline so far -- a three-way deal, at that -- was also the first big one between Holland and Yzerman.
"They're easy conversations because of our relationship," Holland said by phone before Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. "At the end of the day, the deal still has to make sense."
Yzerman was busy on Tuesday, acquiring Kyle Quincey from the Colorado Avalanche for Steve Downie, then spinning Quincey into Detroit's first-round draft pick. But his first attempt in turning Quincey into young assets was a wish list that included prospects Holland had no intention of parting with.
To read more from Craig on how Detroit and Tampa Bay will benefit from Tuesday's three-way trade, sign up for Insider today.
- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
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