The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only article this morning which discusses how competitive she believes the Red Wings will be this upcoming season:
Even without [Jakub] Vrana, the Wings project to be competitive among the top six forwards: His absence creates an opportunity for veteran Bobby Ryan — and 2020 first-round pick Lucas Raymond — to battle Filip Zadina for spots on a line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, or Pius Suter and Robby Fabbri.
The defense looks like it will be the Wings’ best since 2018-19, when Niklas Kronwall was still in the lineup, Mike Green was still effective, and Filip Hronek was just beginning to make an impression. Moritz Seider, a 2019 first-round pick, is a mobile puck-carrier who can run one of the power plays; newcomer Nick Leddy is fluid skater who will stabilize a top-four corps that included Hronek and either Danny DeKeyser or Marc Staal. Troy Stecher, Jordan Oesterle and Gustav Lindstrom also will compete for ice time. They’re all NHL-caliber defensemen, and that’s a degree of depth that’s been sorely missing.
In the crease, Alex Nedeljkovic comes in with the bragging rights of being a Calder Trophy finalist, but the guy he’s replacing, Jonathan Bernier, was the Wings’ most consistent player the past two seasons. Nedejlkovic will share duties with Thomas Greiss, who righted himself after a dismal start last season.
All in all, it should add up to more consistently competitive performances.
Continued (paywall)
