Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov had an underwhelming 2020-2021 season for the Wings, but this season, the 28-year-old has been excellent, scoring 6 goals over the course of 14 games played. MLive’s Ansar Khan profiled Namestnikov in his afternoon notebook:
Namestnikov is off to a much better start this season, providing the kind of secondary scoring the team hoped for when signing him to a two-year, $4 million contract 13 months ago.
“Last year was a weird year for me, the pandemic, a lot of posts, sometimes that happens,” Namestnikov said. “This year I had a good summer, I worked hard, it’s paying off right now. I hope I can keep producing like this and help the team win.”
Namestnikov scored twice in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Edmonton, giving him seven goals in 14 games. That is just one short of his total in 53 games last season. He already has scored twice as many non-empty netters (six).
“I don’t know that he’s played a whole lot different,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Sometimes the puck goes in. His shooting percentages have been below the norm I’d make the argument for the last 2-3 years; statistically he should have more goals. He’s worked hard this summer trying to get that to at least where it’s at the NHL norm. I know he’s done a good job of that.”
