Better, but not finished making changes

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn ranked the NHL’s 32 teams by their perceived improvements over the course of the NHL offseason.

As the Red Wings have yet to address their needs for a top-six forward or top-four defenseman, the Red Wings get dinged, but they rank surprisingly highly on Luszczyszyn’s list:

9. Detroit Red Wings

Net Rating added: +6

In: James van Riemsdyk, Mason Appleton, Jacob Bernard-Docker, John Gibson
Out: Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte, Jeff Petry, Alex Lyon, Petr Mrazek

The Red Wings may have mostly operated around the edges, but the team looks better because of it, even if none of the players the team brought in look like they bring a lot to the table. James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton aren’t anything special, but it beats playing someone such as Tyler Motte. Jacob Bernard-Docker doesn’t look like much either, but if the alternative is Jeff Petry or Justin Holl, that’s a small win for the Red Wings, too.

The biggest change, though, is between the pipes. John Gibson’s track record has been spotty of late, but he looked genuinely locked in last season and should provide a more stable presence over Alex Lyon.

It’s a patchwork job and the team still needs work overall to make the postseason, but the Red Wings do look incrementally more competitive.

Continued (paywall)