The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those that were eliminated early. It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Detroit.
Many NHL fans will remember the dynastic Detroit Red Wings teams that took home four Stanley Cups between 1997-2008. Unfortunately, those days are behind America’s most winningest hockey franchise, and the likes of Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper, and Niklas Kronwall, have all transitioned from the ice to the front office. With the Red Wings finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for their strenuous rebuild, we’ll look at some boxes they should check this offseason.
Find Time For Prospects
One of the most out-of-nowhere trades from this year’s deadline was the Red Wings shipping promising defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks for the New York Islander’s first-round pick in this year’s draft. Arguably the team’s top defenseman at the time of the trade, finding time for prospects with a higher potential than Hronek is an intelligent move for Detroit to continue to make.
To start, we’ll walk through a comparison of some of the top five forward selections from 2017-2021. In Group A, we have Tim Stutzle, Matthew Beniers, Nico Hischier, Brady Tkachuk, and Elias Pettersson. In Group B, we’ll compare Alexis Lafreniere, Barrett Hayton, Andrei Svechnikov, Kaapo Kakko, and Quinton Byfield. The averages for Group A: 273 GP, 225 P, 0.83 PPG, and 18:15 ATOI. For Group B: 215 GP, 112 P, 0.52 PPG, 15:02 ATOI.
Although there is a major learning curve transitioning to the professional level, younger players are benefiting immensely from averaging more time on ice. With high-end prospects such as Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper, Albert Johansson, and William Wallinder right on the cusp, it is time for the Red Wings to swing more trades (much like they did with Hronek) to find adequate ice time to lead to the maximum growth for these players.
Two players that immediately come to mind that the Red Wings should be seeking to move on from would be forwards Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina. Both players were drafted in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft, and have yet to establish much on-ice value for Detroit up to this point. With more notable prospects coming up the pipeline, and these two players likely still maintaining some value due to their young age and draft selection, the Red Wings should be looking to deal both of them this summer.
Establish Consistent Scoring
Since the 2019-20 season, Detroit has had a massive problem putting the puck in the net. The team has yet to finish outside the bottom ten in GF/G since the 2018-19 season. Luckily for Detroit, there should be players outside the organization that should help them improve in this category.
In this year’s upcoming free agency period, the high-end scoring talent has already been thinned out, with the likes of David Pastrnak, Joe Pavelski, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Bo Horvat having already signed extensions. Of the remaining players, only Alex Killorn, Patrick Kane, Max Domi, J.T. Compher, and Vladimir Tarasenko would present real opportunities for Detroit. However, with the average age of the team only getting younger with prospect graduation, none of these players seem to fit the Red Wings’ timeline.
Enter the trade market. Looking ahead at this offseason’s potential trade options, there are three players that seem to stand out as viable solutions to Detroit’s goal-scoring issues. Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators, and Brock Boeser from the Canucks.
All three players fit into the Red Wings’ timeline, they have all shown an ability to score goals, and they all find themselves in precarious situations on their current teams. The Flames and Canucks are headed toward serious shakeups this offseason, and DeBrincat was very noncommittal on signing a contract extension in Ottawa.
If any of these players become available, it would make sense for Detroit to swing a big trade to bring one of them in.
Goaltending Upgrades
After acquiring goaltender Ville Husso from the St.Louis Blues after a brilliant 2021-22 season, the Red Wings may have thought their goaltending issues were finally shored up for the time being. Unfortunately, the move did not pan out as they may have hoped.
This season, all of Detroit’s three goalies, Husso as well as Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg, all held a Quality Start Percentage less than 50% and produced a Goals Saved Above Average of -13.5, -4.4, and -8.2, respectively. In more topical statistics, none of their goaltenders produced a GAA of 3.00 or less, and none were able to sport a SV% of .900 or more.
After trading up in the 2021 draft to select goaltender Sebastian Cossa at 15th overall, it is evident that he will be the goaltender of the future in Detroit, and is likely sitting above another goaltending prospect, Carter Gylander, in their prospect depth chart.
For the time being, with this year’s free agent market for goaltenders sporting the likes of Joonas Korpisalo, Antti Raanta, Semyon Varlamov, and Adin Hill, Detroit must once again be on the lookout for a better stop-gap until Cossa is ready to make the jump to professional hockey.
Name An AHL Head Coach
As the Red Wings are prepared for an influx of talent to the minor league level, Yzerman highlighted the need for a winning culture when it comes to prospect development. In mid-April, after a last-place finish in the AHL’s Central Division, the Grand Rapids Griffins announced they would not be renewing the contract of head coach Ben Simon.
One of the top coaching candidates that comes to mind is Norm Bazin, the current head coach of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell of the Hockey East conference. Since taking over as head coach for the 2011-12 season, Bazin has accrued a 254-145-39 record, as well as one Frozen Four appearance in 2012-13, losing to the eventual champion Yale University.
With a track record of success, and a clear ability to coach younger players, Bazin would be a prime candidate to take over behind the bench for the Griffins next season. If the team is unable to convince Bazin to coach in Grand Rapids, Yzerman, and Assistant General Manager Shawn Horcoff will have plenty of work to do this summer in finding the best candidate.
One idea I’ve wondered about a couple times recently is Shane Wright going to Detroit. I feel like it’s pretty crazy, but is it just crazy enough to work? The kraken are a bit heavy with capable left handed centermen; Detroit is allegedly in need of a 1C. Shane is still a bit of a question mark, and I’m not suggesting he’s that 1C, but could his help boost Larkin’s game? It might not necessarily be a “good look” by the kraken to trade him.. but surely time on ice is important to his development and that would be doing right by him. I just kinda wonder where he will fit in in Seattle, and it seems unlikely they’d wanna trade him to a division rival, as that might just be too far. I dunno. Just a weird thought that came through. Been holding it for a future mailbag, so maybe I’ll suggest it there too, unless the consensus is that it’s just preposterous.
Just don’t fit. Plus the fact that there is NO evidence that he is a total player. Teams backed off in the draft, for a reason!
I believe Adin Hill the UFA goalie from LV would be a GREAT sign!
Veleno plays a pretty good game overall, unlike Zadina. Zadina has not worked out. I think it would be a mistake to deal Veleno at this juncture. I think his game has been altered by all the ‘defense first’ philosophy. He shows talent though not consistently.
Wings need to add a sniper from somewhere, likely a trade as the UFA market is thin. Toronto and Boston may be open to dealing players after their playoff busts.
Besides a sniper, the Wings have to add more physicality to their roster. They are routinely manhandled against the boards and when trying to get to the net. This needs to change.
How about signing Bert (for grit – and scoring) and trading for Nylander for absolute offence!