TSN’s Travis Yost ranks the NHL’s 32 teams’ defensive corps into tiers today, and he suggests that the Red Wings’ defense ranks 4th in terms of a 1-to-5 tier system:
Detroit Red Wings (T4) — Consider me eager to see what 22-year old Simon Edvinsson brings to the table in his second full season. Detroit’s been looking for defensive quality beyond Moritz Seider ever since Filip Hronek was traded to Vancouver, and Edvinsson impressed in his rookie campaign with 31 points in 78 games. Only four defenders of a similar age produced better than that rate, and it’s an encouraging group: Montreal’s Lane Hutson, New Jersey’s Luke Hughes, Buffalo’s Owen Power, and Los Angeles’ Brandt Clarke.
Continued; I would politely disagree regarding the Red Wings’ defensive corps’ relative flimsiness–there’s more than Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson and “everyone else”–but I would suggest that trading Filip Hronek was taking a step back to take a step forward in terms of Axel Sandin Pellikka’s sky-high potential.
