The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a mailbag feature this morning. Here’s what she has to say about the Wings’ disappointing 2024-2025 season:
It’s interesting that entering Saturday, the Wings had played 32 games, and were 13-15-4, good for 30 points and sixth place in the Atlantic Division. Last year on Dec. 20, they likewise had played 32 games – and were 15-13-4, good for 34 points and fifth place in the division. That’s not much of a disparity. It wasn’t until the new year that last season’s squad took off and turned the conversation from draft lottery positioning to possibly ending the playoff drought.
It’s hard to picture this season’s team performing a similar resurrection. Last season’s squad could score: At the date referenced above, the 2023-24 Wings averaged 3.50 goals-per-game and 3.25 against, with a plus-8 overall goal differential. This season’s squad’s average is 2.69 for, 3.15 against, and a minus-15 differential. When the 2024-25 Wings have defended well, they’ve struggled to score. When they find their offense, it seems to come at the cost of their team defense.
The list of players from whom much more was expected offensively coming into the season is lengthy: Vladimir Tarasenko, who makes $4.75 million and 31 games in had four goals among 12 points. J.T. Compher, ($5.1 million); with 16 points after 31 games. Michael Rasmussen ($3.2 million); 12 points in 31 games. Joe Veleno ($2.28 million), five points in 28 games. Those are just some of the forwards. On defense, whatever the Wings expected when they signed Erik Gustafsson for two years, $4 million, it wasn’t for him to struggle so much he’d end up a healthy scratch. What an indictment on him that in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers, when Simon Edvinsson got hurt in the first period, Gustafsson was the only defenseman who played less than his average.
The fact is, the Wings are closing in on the midpoint of their season, and there’s been no indication so far that they can gain any traction. They had such a great opportunity this past week with beating the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Flyers and then hosting the Canadiens at home. And what happened Friday? The Wings didn’t give it their best, and they handed their opponent the two points. It was the same the previous week in Philadelphia, it was the same in November in California.
Continued; I want to believe that this year’s Red Wings team has a 2023-2024-like second half of the season in them, but it’s hard to do so right now.
