Detroit Red Wings mailbag: NHL trade deadline, prospects, Petr Mrazek

Time for another Detroit Red Wings mailbag, with Free Press sports writer Helene St. James. Thank you for all the great questions, via Twitter and e-mail.

HSJ: There’s no rush to sell this far ahead of the Feb. 26 deadline. As teams decide whether a playoff run is realistic, prices will go up. Look at what Ken Holland got last year for Brendan Smith (a third-round pick in 2017 and a second-round pick in 2018). Mike Green should fetch more than that; his offensive skills are exactly what a Cup-contender wants to add.

As for the prospects, the Grand Rapids Griffins are finally showing signs of playing well again after a rough first half. If the Wings need to call up someone, it will depend on the situation — if for example, the Wings see a playoff push is not realistic for them but is realistic for the Griffins, the Wings are more likely to call up a veteran and let prospects be go-to guys in a competitive situation.

More Red Wings news:

►How are Red Wings' top prospects faring in the minors?

►Standings daunting, but Red Wings believe playoff push is coming

HSJ: I could see a team in win-now mode willing to do that — bear in mind, it would be a mid-to-late first-round pick, but Green will interest teams looking to boost their power play.

Q: Via e-mail from a Mr. Rosenthal: Petr Mrazek has not performed well as a backup and doesn’t give the team a chance to win when he plays. What are the chances the Wings waive him and make Coreau the back up? They need an effective back up to have any chance of making the playoffs.

HSJ: Mrazek has struggled to adapt to the backup role, which can be challenging especially for a guy used to playing regularly. However, Mrazek has not given the Wings reason to bestow regular starts, while Jimmy Howard has. Mrazek maybe had a chance to challenge Dec. 2 at Montreal (Howard had let in 10 goals the two games prior) but he didn’t look any better than his teammates that night. In the 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, Mrazek denied an early Tampa attack while Detroit’s skaters did little to push back. Mrazek has shown he can be elite, but he set himself back last season with his attitude.

There was no market for him this summer (as evidenced by the NHL expansion draft) and he hasn’t done anything to improve his trade value. Maybe a taker materializes in the coming weeks, as half of Mrazek’s $4 million salary is gone. Regarding Jared Coreau, he has not stood out with the Griffins in the first half (2.77 goals-against average, .906 save percentage in 25 games) and he, too, had trouble last season in the NHL when he didn’t start regularly.

►Red Wings midseason grades: 'B' is for better than last year, mostly

HSJ: As mentioned above, Mrazek hasn’t played well enough to challenge for the starter’s job. The Wings are trying to win, and thus, are playing the goalie who has given them the best chance to so do most outings. Mrazek has been trying to play his way back to being No. 1 for nearly two years — on Feb. 14, 2016 (Mrazek’s 24th birthday) he had allowed 16 goals in a 13-start span, generating a .933 save percentage and 1.94 goals-against average that both ranked first among NHL goaltenders who had played at least 25 games that season. Since then, Mrazek has gone 27-32-11 with a 3.22 goals-against average and .896 save percentage.

HSJ: First off, Martin Frk's last name is a never-ending delight.

From my experience, such situations usually resolve themselves — i.e., there will be another injury. Otherwise, David Booth. Luke Witkowski can be fielded either as a forward or defenseman. Coach Jeff Blashill likes what Witkowski brings as far as a physical presence.

►More: After scary incident, Wings don't want Martin Frk to play unnerved

►Wings dietitian keeps players moving like Ferrari during holidays

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

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