The Hockey News’s Mike Stephens posted a list of four NHL teams who have “helped themselves the most” over the course of this summer’s offseason (so far, anyway), and he lists the Red Wings among the ranks of the most improved:
Biggest Moves: Alex DeBrincat, Justin Holl, Klim Kostin, J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere, Christian Fischer, James Reimer, Alex Lyon
Departures: Dominik Kubalik, Filip Zadina, Pius Suter, Mark Pysyk, Robert Hagg, Alex NedeljkovicIn a vacuum, the Red Wings are a much better hockey team now than they were last season. Authoring one of the busiest off-seasons in the NHL has juiced their depth at all three roster positions, headlined by adding a legitimate offensive weapon in Alex DeBrincat.
Does that mean they’ll make the playoffs in 2023-24? It’ll be tough.
Outside of DeBrincat, GM Steve Yzerman didn’t really add any difference-makers to a roster that desperately needed some, opting for quantity over quality. Compher is a second-line center at best. Holl can play second-pair minutes with mixed results. Kostin, Sprong, and Fischer have all only been bottom-six grinders. Reimer and Lyon are 1Bs at best. There are a lot of new names on Detroit’s roster that can play a brand of hockey that is more serviceable than the names they’re replacing. But that’s all they are – serviceable players.
The Red Wings’ future hinges on two players: DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond. If DeBrincat can go back to his perennial 40-goal form, and Raymond can get back onto the trajectory that made him seem destined for stardom as a rookie in 2021-22, then the Red Wings are in a very good position. But both players regressed last season – particularly DeBrincat, who took a step back in the goal-scoring department the second he was stripped from Patrick Kane’s wing.
There are a lot of “ifs” at play with the Red Wings here. But no one can deny they’re a better team overall.
Continued; I would suggest that not forgetting Moritz Seider improving over the course of a full season with Jake Walman, as well as Ville Husso finding a more consistent form in net, will be critical to the Wings’ improvement as well.
That being said, the Red Wings had very little depth before last summer, and Steve Yzerman has spent two summers and a lot of cap space on building a team from the center on out.
Will Detroit make the playoffs? I don’t know, given how stacked the Atlantic Division is, and how competitive the Eastern Conference may be. But they’ve got a chance “if everything goes right,” and that’s more than they’ve had over the last couple of seasons.
