NHL.com’s Dan Rosen answered mailbag questions for his Wednesday mailbag (it’s Tuesday night, but this published a little early), and he feels that the Red Wings are one of three (or four) rebuilding teams that may very well impress:
Who are the top three rebuilding teams you see taking the next step this season? — @nyrprpokemon
They’re all in the Atlantic Division, the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. I will add the New Jersey Devils, but let’s focus on the three in the Atlantic for the purposes of your question.
Ottawa is obvious with additions of forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, and goalie Cam Talbot. The Senators must be taken seriously when you add a 40-goal scorer, a veteran playmaker and leader, and a solid goalie to a team that has already felt the emergence of forwards Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Drake Batherson, plus defenseman Thomas Chabot. The next step is contending for a playoff berth. They missed by 27 points last season and I don’t think they’re good enough, particularly on defense, to close the gap enough this season. I also don’t think it’ll require 100 points to get into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference as it did last season, so the Senators have a chance.
The Sabres return a core group that features young players who are confident that they are the answer in Buffalo. They were 16-9-3 in 28 games from March 2 to the end of last season, a .625 points percentage that was tied for 12th in the NHL with the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Tage Thompson (28 points), Jeff Skinner (26), Victor Olofsson (25), Rasmus Dahlin (19), Casey Mittelstadt (16) and Alex Tuch (16) all finished strong. Defenseman Owen Power, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, had two goals and one assist in eight games. The Sabres can build off their finish to last season, but it’s easier to play when you’re already out of the playoff race than it is at the start when you’re in it and the pressure is on. They need a good start.
The Red Wings added forwards Andrew Copp and David Perron, and defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta. They beefed up their goaltending by bringing in Ville Husso to join Alex Nedeljkovic. Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana are forwards in the prime of their careers. Moritz Seider, the defenseman who won the Calder Trophy voted as the NHL rookie of the year last season, and forward Lucas Raymond should benefit from the additions. New coach Derek Lalonde comes from the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he was an assistant for three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final, championships in 2020 and 2021.
Continued; it’s nothing earth-shattering to read Rosen discuss the Wings as an up-and-coming team, but it’s a nice bit of reinforcement one-and-a-half days before training camp begins.
