from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

What stung Kronwall about this particular move was his friendship with Nyquist. They’d been teammates for parts of eight seasons in Detroit, and being part of that Swedish core of Wings, had developed a strong friendship.

“For the first time, it was one of my closer friends that got traded,” Kronwall said. “It was not fun.”

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Kronwall knows that if the Wings were playoff contenders, Nyquist would still be his teammate.

“We put ourselves in this position (for players to be traded), we allowed this to happen,” Kronwall said. “This definitely was not the most fun time. But it’s part of the business and I’m happy for him. It’s still one of your dear friends and you have a relationship that will carry on for the rest of your life.”...

Kronwall spoke with general manager Ken Holland ahead of the trade deadline and expressed his desire to remain with the Wings for the rest of the season.

If there were teams interested – and reportedly, at least Toronto and Columbus inquired about Kronwall’s availability – Holland politely rejected any overtures.

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