Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Should the Detroit Red Wings go after Cam Fowler?

The Wings badly need to bolster their defense, and Fowler's name is a hot trade topic at this weekend's NHL draft.

Who wouldn't want Fowler? He's 24, already has played more than 400 NHL games, went straight from being drafted 12th overall in 2010 by Anaheim to playing 76 games for the Ducks in 2010-11. He's a smooth puck mover with two years left on a contract that pays $4 million annually.

He'd significantly improve a Wings defense that's average at best. Fowler isn't a true No. 1 defenseman such as Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty or Duncan Keith, but Fowler is a good No. 2, and the Wings don't even have that at the moment.

As always, the issue is price. Would it make sense for this year's 16th overall pick and a good prospect? Yes. But what if the price is this year's first-round pick and promising right-winger Anthony Mantha? That'd be a steep price, but high-end young defensemen are hard to come by, unless drafted and developed from within and the Wings don't have a Fowler within their system.

What would you do?

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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