DobberProspects’ Victor Nuno wrote a very, very lengthy piece for the DobberHockey website conglomerate, discussing the Detroit Red Wings as part of DobberProspects’ “32 in 32” series. He offers both a breakdown of the Red Wings’ 2022 draft class as well as this take on the Wings’ offseason moves:
It seems that Yzerman has decided it is time to start being competitive again. He has overhauled much of the defense and added scoring up front. While this might now move the needle too much in the competitive Atlantic division, it should at least remove some of the pressure from the young players on this team. The additions and even some of the subtractions should make this team more competitive and help move the Red Wings in the direction where they are once again a competitive franchise every season, for the playoffs if not for the Stanley Cup.
Main roster: Andrew Copp (C/LW), Dominik Kubalik (LW), David Perron (LW/RW), Austin Czarnik (C), Matt Luff (RW), Ben Chiarot (D), Olli Maatta (D), Mark Pysyk (D), Robert Hagg (D), Steven Kampfer (D), Ville Husso (G)
System: Pontus Andreasson (C/RW), Jussi Olkinuora (G)
The blue line is almost completely overhauled this offseason. The only two regulars that remain are Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek. With the strong veteran presence, Seider and Hronek shouldn’t have to carry as heavy a load and might unlock more offense. Chiarot should continue to provide value in peripheral leagues as he should get all the minutes he can handle. The rest of the additions will likely be depth pieces.
Up front, Copp will bring a strong two-way presence and make the Red Wings tougher to play against in general. He should be able to drive play into the offensive zone and help his teammates score a few more points. Although he may not have Artemi Panarin or Mark Scheifele to play with in Detroit, he should get a lot of minutes and the opportunity to produce at least similar results to the last two seasons.
Kubalik and Perron bring a whole lot of secondary scoring, something the Red Wings sorely lacked. The team now has a legitimate top six and opponents no longer have to shut down one line. This should dramatically improve their chances of winning on any given night. Kubalik is coming off a down season, but he should be able to rebound to near the 50-point pace he had in his first two seasons in Chicago. Perron probably won’t score 26 power-play points again, but he should continue to be featured on the top unit.
The biggest addition is obviously in net, where Husso gives this team a legitimate tandem. No matter which of the two goalies they start on a given night, they have a good chance of winning with either Husso or Nedeljkovic. This season is pretty important for Nedeljkovic as he is an unrestricted free agent at its conclusion and will want to get his big payday. A good performance this season will ensure that and Husso should help make it happen.
Continued; this one’s worth your time…
