Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith wonders which player will have to step up to replace one Dylan Larkin, presuming that Larkin is traded by the team:
The most obvious answer to the question of replacing your top center is to go with the next guy down the depth chart. However, one of the Red Wings main needs going into the offseason was a true no. 2 center to help drive offense in the Red Wings top six.
Andrew Copp, who has been in the position for the past three years, hasn’t proven to be an effective goal-scorer. His career high in points was set last year with 43. When compared to Larkin, who has scored 35 goals alone in each of the last five seasons, makes for a rather bleak outlook.
The other option Red Wings fans should prepare for is Marco Kasper to step into the role. While the young Austrian center had a rough sophomore outing by just about every metric, it isn’t actually out of place for young Red Wings centerman to struggle in their second season.
Larkin himself went from 45 points in his rookie campaign to 32 total points and a -28 rating in his second year in the league. Kasper doesn’t pop with nearly the same offensive numbers, with just 37 points in his first year and a precipitous dropoff to 19 points the following. However, he won over 50% of his faceoffs and led the Red Wings forward group in hits last year as well.
At just 22, Kasper also still has plenty of room to grow, and perhaps locking him into the center position instead of trying him out on the wing on various lines throughout the season will help him to better hone his shooting ability.
Smith also believes, as I do, that the Red Wings may target Elias Pettersson of Vancouver to “fill a hole,” though my gut feeling is that the Wings may “flip” some future assets acquired for Larkin for Pettersson and his $10 million salary; Smith believes that the Red Wings would have to make a player-for-player trade instead:
While the ship has sailed on names like Vincent Trochek and Mavrik Bourque, the Red Wings could still pursue a name like Elias Petterson to help. However, with a new GM yet to be named after Steve Yzerman agreed to ‘step aside’ from the franchise, swinging a new trade will be difficult for the Red Wings, and that’s before getting into what actual trade assets the Red Wings have.
