This morning brings three more articles which focus on Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s remarks during last week’s “Summer Hockey in the D” event.
Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff kicks things off with a discussion regarding the Red Wings’ forward lineup…
“I think we did a good job of addressing some holes,” Lalonde said of the club’s offseason moves. “It feels like guys are maybe slotted going into the year a little bit.”
Let’s face it, in recent seasons it’s sometimes been the case that the Red Wings have found themselves trying to fit square pegs into round holes. And it wasn’t all that long ago when the team was desperately seeking to take chicken you-know-what and turn it into chicken salad.
This team, Lalonde feels, offers more variety up and down the lineup. Players will be fitting into roles that they are generally filling as NHL players. They won’t be asking someone to do something for which they simply don’t possess the skill level to do so.
“Early on it just feels like with the signings – Patty (Kane) coming back, (Vladimir) Tarasenko (signed) as a free agent, Tyler Motte (signed) as a free agent, getting Christian Fischer back – I think guys are slotted a little bit more proper and maybe more of an ideal top-six, bottom-six situation,” Lalonde said.
MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a subscriber-only story which discusses the Red Wings’ team defense and defensive corps, suggesting that the Red Wings cannot finish 24th in the league in goals-against this upcoming season:
“I just feel that the teams in the end, it all looks the same,” Lalonde said. “They put a premium on keeping the puck out of the net. It’ll be a goal of ours and we’re going to need it from everyone. I just think even the natural DNA of our players, we want to score goals. We need those goals, but I think it’s very important if you’re going to get there in the end where we want to be, we got to keep it out of the net.”
The Red Wings once again figure to start the season with eight defensemen, including young Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, who are pretty much assured of roster spots barring unforeseen circumstances, and veteran Erik Gustafsson.
The unit will play a key role in helping improve the GAA.
“I think we got really fortunate last year in staying healthy on the back end,” Lalonde said. “But we’ll need that depth. I think all eight are very capable. I’m very excited about Simon. I think his play towards the end of last year was exciting. But I’m very excited about Albert, too. I was able to see him towards the end of the year and into the playoffs (in Grand Rapids). I think he’s ready for the National Hockey League. He’ll have to show us that in camp.”
And The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood discusses the Red Wings’ three-headed goaltending monster:
“Healthy competition” for the starting job will cause [the Red Wings’ pecking] order to fluctuate. With three goaltenders who can start, this should give the Red Wings options to choose from if all goes according to plan. It might also bring out better performances from the goaltenders as they compete. At least, that’s how Talbot is looking at it.
“Internal competition always makes everybody better,” Talbot said July 3, days after signing his two-year contract with the Red Wings. “I think that bringing in the guys they brought in just drives everybody that much more and that’s a good thing for everybody.”
Just like the best laid plans oft go awry, a three-goalie system can quickly turn into a two-headed tandem, which could make some of Lalonde’s decisions for him. That’s what happened last season, when Husso’s continued health struggles limited Lalonde to just Lyon and James Reimer for most of 2023-24, and Lyon put together an impressive 16-4-2 run starting in January that entrenched him as the No. 1. These factors simplify the decisions a little bit, but in an ideal world the Red Wings want a healthy stable to choose from. The ability to pick the wrong goaltender is a privilege, even if it’s an albatross all the same.
“I think a pretty good job last year by our management group having three goalies,” Lalonde said. “Very unique. It worked for us last year, and I think we’ll go into the season with that mentality and kind of let it play out.”
