ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton posted a set of offseason grades for the NHL’s 32 teams over the course of a lengthy an ESPN+ article, and here’s what they have to say about the Red Wings’ offseason moves:
Key players added: F Alex DeBrincat, F J.T. Compher, F Klim Kostin, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Justin Holl, G James Reimer
Key players lost: F Alex Chiasson, D Robert Hagg, G Alex Nedeljkovic
Remaining cap space: $8,162,777Coach status: Derek Lalonde didn’t burst onto the scene in Detroit last season with the same vigor (or success) that, say, Jim Montgomery did in Boston. Lalonde is a first-time NHL head coach who went through growing pains of his own, along with a Red Wings team that struggled to find an identity and stick with it. Many of the problems Detroit exhibited under former coach Jeff Blashill came back to bite Lalonde’s group down the stretch of the 2022-23 season. But Lalonde was GM Steve Yzerman’s pick to take over, and he’ll have a chance to prove why with an improved Detroit team this season.
Overall grade: A-. Detroit added to every position in free agency. And its pièce de résistance was trading for — and ultimately extending — DeBrincat. Detroit made its move nine days into July and signed DeBrincat to a four-year, $31.5 million deal that truly cements how much better and deeper Detroit is now (on paper, at least) than it was in April. That’s not all DeBrincat, either. Compher brings a Stanley Cup-winning background and some sandpaper to a possible top-six-forward role. Gostisbehere and Holl give Lalonde more potential looks and ability to juggle on the blue line. And Reimer is a veteran backup who can support Ville Husso.
That’s all good. Where Detroit has so often fallen short in recent years is its lack of top-end scorers and a full-team buy-in on the defensive side of the puck. Yzerman reeled in a big catch with DeBrincat, who is poised to bounce back into the type of awe-inspiring player he was with Chicago. Now Yzerman just has to hope that defensive commitment from the group at large will materialize too.
Continued (paywall)
I could not be happier with the pick-up of Alex DeBrincat. FINALLY! An “upper echelon” acquisition who will make an immediate, significant contribution to the Redwings offense and bring much needed, help to captain Dylan Larkin. Not only with scoring, but with helpers and generally making other players around him better. It’s really exciting to me that he is 25 years old and also from Detroit which will contribute greatly to his overall happiness in being a Detroit Redwing. Ideal situation, really!
The blue line looks really solid with Seider, Maata, Walman and veterans Chiarot and Gostisbehere and others. And the net minding looks very very good as well with Alex Lyon giving the Redwings a solid third option after Husso, and Reimer. With younger offensive players like Raymond, Berggren, Veleno and veterans like Fabri and Peron I cannot wait for the season to get started. This is the first season in a long long time that I feel the Red Wings can get back to the playoffs.