DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed an early-morning article which discusses Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde and GM Steve Yzerman’s desire to implement a new defensive system this season:
Last season, Detroit’s 3.78 goals-against average per game ranked 31st in the NHL while its penalty kill of 73.8 percent was 32nd in the league. But with free-agent defensemen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Mark Pysyk and Robert Hagg joining a unit headlined by Moritz Seider, Lalonde wants to establish good habits to improve upon last year’s numbers.
“There’s nothing more important on a team-first mentality than team defense,” Lalonde told the media. “I think we’re in a unique spot in that it is right there in black and white. We were obviously one of the worst teams in any defensive category in the league last year, so that’s a good starting point.”
Strong team defense is tied to areas like zone coverage, playing physical and controlling the pace of play.
“A lot of the first couple days of camp, you’ll see play without the puck,” Lalonde said about training camp in Traverse City. “And improving in some of those areas we struggled last year.”
All the while, the Red Wings will continue to play aggressive and opportunistic offensively.
“It’s not like we’re not going to try and score,” Yzerman said. “We’re going to do that as well, but there is a certain responsibility for all players when they’re on the ice to have in the back of their mind, regardless of where the puck is, to be on the right side of the puck.”
