The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood discusses three significant “positional battles” which are of note going into training camp, including the tangle of young forwards hoping to make the roster, the goaltending situation, and the battle for time on the Red Wings’ third defensive pairing:
Of the eight defensemen, some are clearly going to be lineup regulars. Moritz Seider, when he signs an extension, will be on the top pairing, likely with Ben Chiarot or perhaps Simon Edvinsson. Outside of those two potential counterparts, it’s likely that power play specialist Erik Gustafsson will be in the lineup to run the man advantage in some capacity.
The final two spots come down to some combination of Olli Maatta, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl and Albert Johansson. The former two were lineup regulars last season, while Holl spent most of the season as a healthy scratch. Johansson cannot be sent down to Grand Rapids without going through waivers, where another team might claim him for free.
Who has the edge for a spot on what will, in all likelihood, be the bottom pairing? That’s one of the questions this training camp will seek to answer. Maatta and Petry appear to be favorites given their regularity in last season’s lineup. Maatta anchored last season’s third pairing, while Petry played most of the season on the second. A demotion out of the lineup would probably take some development — either themselves losing a step with age, or other players like Holl and Johansson proving their claim to those spots.
In the case of Holl, he’s probably this team’s seventh defenseman as it currently stands. He spent more time as a healthy scratch last season than he did in the actual lineup, but Yzerman kept him around for a reason. He’s one of just three right-handed defensemen among the eight projected NHLers, so that’s a bit of an edge.
Finally, Yzerman said Tuesday that while Johansson may be on the final roster due to his waiver eligibility, the defenseman will have to earn his way into actual games. That process commences at training camp, where all eyes will be on him and how he might factor in at the NHL level.
“Watching him in junior, watching him at the pro level in Sweden, and then in the American Hockey League, he’s adjusted at every level,” Yzerman said of Johansson. “So I’m pretty optimistic that he’ll be a good, solid defender for us. And it’s up to him to outplay one of the other guys, or wait until he gets his opportunity and impress well to stay in the lineup.”
Continued; injuries will play into the situation as well.
Injuries are guaranteed given the fact that the Red Wings will play 8 exhibition games over the course of 12 nights. That’s something I really dislike as someone who worries about the team’s players, but the team seems to want to maximize not only its player evaluations, but also its income, so the Wings play the most exhibition games in the league. Most teams play 5-7 exhibition games.
