The Athletic’s Max Bultman examines the Red Wings’ depth chart after the team added Alex DeBrincat in a Sunday-night trade. Up front, things have changed:
Right off the top, there’s an interesting decision to make between DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond for the top line.
I’m sure there will be some fans wanting to see both flanking Dylan Larkin, and hey, you can never say never. Certainly it would make for the most offensively skilled line the Red Wings could roll out. But it would ask quite a bit of Larkin in terms of forechecking, on top of the defensive responsibilities of center, and even on top of that Detroit may want to spread out the offense — after all, getting scoring up and down the lineup seems to be a big part of their plan.
So, who do you put up top? DeBrincat is the high-end triggerman the Red Wings have been coveting, so it certainly makes sense to put him on their top-scoring line right from the jump, but it’s every bit as important for Detroit that Raymond have an offensive breakout season, too. It’s not an easy question, and you could see multiple looks throughout the year.
Let’s go with the DeBrincat avenue for now, though, which would bump Raymond onto a line with Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen. He adds some high-end skill and sense to that line, and with two heavy linemates, he should be able to work himself into space while benefiting from two quietly impressive playmakers. Plus, Raymond has the competitive makeup to handle the matchups a Copp-Rasmussen line would take. So that fit makes sense.
Meanwhile David Perron slots in opposite DeBrincat, with his blend of hockey IQ and wall play complementing Detroit’s potential top-two scorers. Maybe you flip the sides from how I have them listed here, to get DeBrincat on his one-timer side, but we don’t need to get that specific on July 11.
Continued (at length, behind a paywall, including PP and PK units)
