Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi are a couple of the Red Wings' promising young forwards. (The Associated Press)

The Detroit Red Wings will rebuild mostly through the draft, but unless they land a couple top-three picks in the next couple of years, it will be a time-consuming process.

More immediate improvement must either come from within, from prospects who might be ready to make the leap to the NHL, from free agency or through trades.

Nobody on the roster was acquired through a trade. The deals general manager Ken Holland has made the past few years mostly have been for draft picks, prospects or AHL players.

Will that change now that the Red Wings have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons and clearly are in a rebuild? If so, who is most likely to be moved?

MLive readers weighed in on that and other topics:

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Andreas Athanasiou shows flashes of brilliance but has criticized for lack of competitiveness. (The Associated Press)

Time to make a player for player trade?

Q: Make an impact trade for a top-tier defenseman instead of hoping for a great draft pick – (Andreas Athanasiou) and a second-round pick for Jacob Trouba. Winnipeg gets to add some more speed to a potent offense and a pick. – Julie

A: From my understanding, the Red Wings were open to trading anyone on their current roster at the deadline except Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, who they like because of his competitiveness and the different dimension he brings.

Athanasiou was not in that “unavailable” category but they were hesitant to move him and would have only done so for a good, young defenseman.

I don’t know if the Jets will try to move Trouba or if they’d be interested in Athanasiou, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Red Wings looked to trade Athanasiou in the off-season or next season.

I wouldn’t have thought that a year ago because his elite speed and finishing ability are at such a premium, especially for a team that struggles to score, and he has so much upside. But his compete level wasn't good enough on many nights -- he was called out multiple times by coach Jeff Blashill and once by Henrik Zetterberg (though not by name) -- and you wonder if that will change.

Athanasiou is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, which he lacked last summer, and is coming off a contract with a $1.387 million cap hit. If he doesn’t file, the team can file, and that would assure him of having a contract by early August. Getting him signed shouldn’t be a problem this year. He’s not going to play in Russia. That was a negotiating ploy by his agent.

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Defenseman Filip Hronek figures to compete for a roster spot next season. (The Associated Press)

Who is part of the future, and who isn't?

Q: Who do they keep moving forward, and who to they trade? Who are the future core pieces of this team moving forward? Which prospects have a shot at making the big club in 2018? As their depth is somewhat suspect at this time, do the Wings discontinue their world-famous recipe of "over ripening" prospects in the AHL? – Saskatoon Wingnut

A: As stated above, the core pieces on the current roster are Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi and possibly Athanasiou. Except for those young forwards and Zetterberg, who will finish his career as a Red Wing, either in 2019 or later, I think they would be open to trading anyone.

Gustav Nyquist will be unrestricted in 2019, so they must decide whether to re-sign him or move him by the trade deadline. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet could be moved, if they find a trade partner.

The contracts and performance of several players, however, would make them difficult to move unless the Red Wings retained salary.

They believe center Michael Rasmussen, their 2017 top pick, has a good chance at making the jump from juniors to the NHL next season (he can’t play in the AHL in 2018-19 because he has junior eligibility remaining). Rasmussen is excelled for Tri-City in the WHL playoffs (nine goals, 19 points in six games).

Right wing Evgeny Svechnikov will get a good opportunity in camp and preseason to make the roster, but I have a feeling he’ll start the season in Grand Rapids.

I think one of Joe Hicketts or Filip Hronek has a chance to make the roster at the start of the season, depending on off-season moves, injuries and their performance in camp. I doubt Dennis Cholowski, their 2016 top pick, will jump from juniors to the NHL. I expect he’ll spend at least one season in Grand Rapids.

With the team rebuilding, Holland has said they are not as apt to “over-ripen” prospects in the minors, but they still need to earn a spot in the lineup.

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Will the Red Wings look to move Gustav Nyquist or re-sign him? (The Associated Press)

Move some veterans and bring in youth

Q: If the Red Wings are serious about "rebuilding," not sure what the last 8-10 years of benign neglect was about. Don't they need to move out some vets so younger players don't fester in the minors as in the past? – Admin

A: They traded Tomas Tatar at the deadline and I imagine they'll look to move some others in the off-season (see above).

Throughout the season, however, Holland and coach Jeff Blashill have stated multiple times they don’t believe in handing roster spots and ice time to prospects and younger players they don’t believe have earned it.

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Steve Yzerman's Tampa Bay Lightning should be Cup contenders for several seasons. (The Associated Press)

Will the Captain ever come home?

Q: Give Ken Holland a one-year contract. He has said a lot of the right things and seems involved in improving our draft options. This being said, Steve Yzerman has only a year remaining (on his contract) and if the Lightning win the Cup … who knows? – Julie

A: The Red Wings announced on Saturday that Holland has signed a two-year extension. Regardless, I don't believe Yzerman will return to Detroit anytime soon, if ever. He has a good thing going in Tampa Bay, where the Lightning have stars in their prime and should be Stanley Cup contenders for several years.

Sometimes star players return to their team as coaches or executives. Others would rather not risk damaging their legacy if it didn’t pan out. I don’t know this to be the case with Yzerman, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that factored into his thinking even if he wanted to leave the Lightning.

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The Red Wings and Frans Nielsen lost to the Islanders Saturday in the season finale. (The Associated Press)

Not a fan of this style

Q: The style that the Red Wings play is frustrating to me and I would like your opinion. When I watch the opposing team in the Wings' zone and they have the puck, it seems the Wings go into a defensive shell and collapse around their goal, leaving the opposing team the opportunity to skate around the perimeter and the points (and get) open shots. Why not take aggressive approaches instead of playing such a conservative style? – Rob

A: If they were playing the style you decribe, I doubt it was by design. It was probably due to a lack of execution and/or ability.

Zetterberg might have been alluding to this following Saturday’s game when he said: “There are periods in games where we go from playing really, really good to all of a sudden spending a lot of time in our own end. That kills the momentum, you spend a lot of energy being in your own end and you don’t have any energy when you get the puck to create any offense.”

A better, top-pairing puck-moving defenseman would certainly help in this regard.

If you have a Red Wings-related question, email me at akhan1@aol.com