Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen goes into detail breaking down the Red Wings’ defensive pairings as they might apply to the seven healthy defensemen on the roster, but I think the most important part of his article to note is the introduction, because it’s the blunt truth:
The Detroit Red Wings probably aren’t concerned today about sorting out who the odd man out is on their defense because they understand the game will likely do it for them.
After the Jeff Petry acquisition, the Red Wings have seven defensemen with noteworthy NHL resumes. If Detroit had a game today, one of them would be a healthy scratch.
But by the time the season launches on Oct. 12, one of those players may be injured. Last season, Red Wings defensemen lost 44 games to injury. That’s more than half a season. Moritz Seider is the only Detroit defenseman to play all 82 games. Last season, Petry missed 21 games last season with injuries. At one point, Petry’s Pittsburgh Penguins had four of their top six defensemen sidelined with injuries. It seems like a 50-50 proposition that an injury will make this decision for the Red Wings.
Allen continues, and his breakdown is worth reading, but the reality of the game is harsh sometimes, and injuries will come into play in determining which of the Red Wings’ defensemen actually start the season skating on the blueline.
