2014-2015 Review
The longest playoff streak in the NHL continued last season, as the Red Wings made their annual trip to the playoffs again. The team did have problems, such as having to depend on inexperienced goalie Petr Mrazek or hall of famer Pavel Datsyuk going down with injury. Veterans Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall and of course Datsyuk were able to manage these problems and again lead the team to success. The team also got key contributions from some new young players. Tomas Tatar, for example, shocked everyone when he led the team with 29 goals. However, even with the new help, the team still fell in the playoffs to the eventual Eastern Conference Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
New Additions
Jeff Blashill
The Red Wings AHL coach takes over after previous head coach Mike Babcock left to take on the challenge that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the AHL championship with a few of the players he will be coaching on the Red Wings. Petr Mrazek, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Danny DeKeyser all played for Blashill in the AHL.
Mike Green
The former all-star defender was brought in to help a defense that disappointed last year. Allowing 2.6 GPG is just not going to cut it in Detroit, so the team chose to go after the biggest name in the market. Green is more of a offensive minded defender, but he does have a career 58 +/- and has been a top line performer.
Brad Richards
Richards has been to the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. He managed to reach the Western Conference finals with his only other team, the Dallas Stars. He is a proven winner, which means he should fit in fine with the Red Wings.
Key Losses
Mike Babcock
Babcock has been regarded as one of the best coaches in the NHL for quite some time now. His Stanley Cup victory with the Red Wings in 2007-2008 was all the proof anyone needed that he is an elite coach. However, Babcock was questioned over how he used the young up and coming players. Although players like Tatar, Nyquist, Abdelkader and DeKeyser among others were outplaying the veterans, he still gave the veterans the big minutes. Since Jeff Blashill coached the young players in the AHL, expect to see a lot of changes this season.
Biggest Strength
They Are Good Everywhere
The Red Wings have talent in every position. At center they have Datsyuk, Richards, Helm and Sheahan among others. For the wingers, they have Zetterberg, Tatar, Franzen, Nyquist and Abdelkader among others. Again, in the defense they have Kronwall, Green and DeKeyser among others. At goal they can chose between the proven Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek.
Biggest Weakness
They Are Not Great Anywhere
They were 10th last year in GPG and 15th in GAA. While both of those numbers are good, they are not particularly elite. With the loads of talented players they have, they should be elite in at least one of the two. Perhaps more playing time for the young players or the new talent they acquired in the off-season will result in more elite stats.
Bottom Line
A Detroit Red Wings season preview pretty much writes itself. Will they be good? Yes. Will they make the playoffs? Yes. Will Pavel Datsyuk embarrass defenders? Yes. The only question is are the Red Wings Stanley Cup favorites? With the talent the Red Wings have, they can beat any team. They just have to hope that young players and new acquisitions can take enough of the load off an aging core.
Fantasy Slant
Most Overrated: Jimmy Howard
Although Howard is being paid like the starter, the Red Wings cannot continue to ignore Petr Mrazek’s potential. Mrazek had a better GAA and SV% than Howard last year, and Mrazek was impressive in the post season. His 2.11 GAA and .925 SV% were among the best in the post season last year, and he posted shutouts in two of the seven games he played in.
Most Underrated: Mike Green
Green gets a bad rap now and days as a defender that makes too many mistakes. People assume that because he did not play 20 minutes a night last year, that he is not the top line defender he was earlier in his career. What really happened last year was that the Capitals realized they could not continue to pay Green’s salary, and gave younger players Green’s minutes. Green led the team in +/- last year, and notched 45 points. He’ll see his numbers improve when he becomes a top liner again with the Red Wings.
Biggest Surprise: Gustav Nyquist
Still relatively unknown, Nyquist is the most talent player to arrive in Detroit in a long time. His blend of quickness and sharp shooting will make him a perennial 30-goal scorer. His backhand is already one of the best in the league, which makes him dangerous not just scoring wise but also in shootouts. He has been knocking on the 30-goal season door for the last couple of years, but this is the year for him to do it.