Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press answered a few questions from the fans.

In response to Detroit UFAs who could be moved at the trade deadline...

Gustav Nyquist is a candidate to be moved next season, as he’ll be in the last year of his contract (he’d have to agree, as he has a no-move clause). He’ll appeal to a team looking for scoring help. The other Wings headed for UFA status next summer are Jimmy Howard, Niklas Kronwall and Luke Witkowski. I don’t see Howard being traded — more likely, his contract gets extended for a year or two, if he plays as well as he has the past two seasons.

On any openings on the defense next year...

When I spoke to him at locker clean out day (April 10), Niklas Kronwall sounded like a guy eager to return. He missed the first three games of 2017-18, but played every game after that. He’ll turn 38 midway through next season, and he’s got hard miles on his body, but he is still a smart player, and a team leader. So barring some offseason setback, I see him playing out the last year of his contract.

That said, I’d still expect there to be an opening — there are six regulars under contract for next season, but that includes Xavier Ouellet, who no longer seems to fit into the Wings’ plans. So I do think there there will be at least one fresh young face on the next season’s defense.

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