The Athletic’s Harman Dayal and James Mirtle ranked the NHL’s 32 teams’ defensive corps into “tiers” today, and they suggest that the Red Wings’ blueline is in the “question marks” territory because it’s full of holes–Axel Sandin Pellikka exempted:
Detroit Red Wings
Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
Albert Johansson – Simon Edvinsson
Erik Gustafsson – Jacob Bernard-DockerExtras: Justin Holl, Travis Hamonic
We are big believers in Edvinsson’s potential, something he flashed more and more late in the year. And Seider’s step forward was pivotal, too, for the Yzerplan to finally bear fruit.
But they’re otherwise surrounded by a ton of question marks on a back end that has too many overpaid, mistake-prone types who have been dumped by better teams.
Airlifting in Hamonic as part of the answer raises additional red flags given his well-documented recent struggles.
Continued (paywall); Johansson plays the right point, and it appears that Sandin Pellikka will have a place on the blueline to start instead of Erik Gustafsson. Those changes might be “minor,” but they matter…
And as I’ve said all summer long, and into the fall, the Wings aren’t going to receive any respect, earned or unearned, from NHL pundits going into this season. It’s up to Detroit to prove its detractors wrong.
