The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a morning-published article which discusses the Red Wings’ potential forward line combinations:
The new additions plus the returning established vets add up to a main group of 13 forwards for Derek Lalonde and his coaching staff to distribute across four lines. After playing together for most of Raymond’s career, since his debut in 2021-22, Larkin and Raymond played on separate lines down the stretch this past spring. Given DeBrincat’s history as a scorer — he has two 40-goal seasons — it makes sense to put him on the top line with Larkin. In that event, Kostin could be an option to play the other wing; at 6 feet 2 and 216 pounds, Kostin would add a heavy presence on the line, and playing with two skilled linemates would give Klim the opportunity to build on the career-year (11 goals, 21 points) he is coming off.
The second line projects to be centered either by Copp or Compher, with Raymond and Perron on the wings. Potentially, if Compher pulls duty in that group, the third line could be Copp with Fabbri and Rasmussen. Copp and Rasmussen really jelled in an admittedly short time last season that ended when Rasmussen suffered a leg injury Feb 25. Rasmussen was enjoying a strong season (with a career-high 29 points in 56 games) and thrived after being moved from playing center on the third line to playing wing with Copp. Fabbri, limited by injuries to 28 games last season, played on the third line (with occasional appearances on the second line).
