Guest Writer: Rebuild a Bear: What to Expect From Detroit This Season

Guest Writer: Rebuild a Bear: What to Expect From Detroit This Season
- Eklund

Hawks fan here Mr. Yager, but it's nice to see a Detroit blog. Hope you can continue contributing.

Thanks for the writing about our favorite team!
Hopefully there is more to come!

I have enjoyed the rebuild since Yzerman took charge. Holland's plan had serious faults and left the fans shaking their heads. Stevie's moves, although not perfect, are obviously heading the team in the right direction.

I agree Double H, both on it's nice to see a Red Wings blog again & the current rebuild style is a breath of fresh air. I believe this team should fair much better on most nights and at least be competitive most of the year barring significant injuries. The acquisitions over the sumer will help in all positions if by nothing else then to push players to be better. I also am thrilled with a new bench boss as Blashill seemed to have lost the room a few years back. LGRW!

Biggest key is coaching. A competent powerplay and this is a team that could be in the wild card hunt.

It's been far too long since we had a Red Wings Blog. The rebuild has been painful, but totally needed. So many young guns on the way and this team will be back in the hunt for cups year in and year out. Holland sacrificed so much in order to keep the streak alive and it set the franshise back many years. Yzerman literally had to tear it down to the studs in order to return this original 6 team to glory. Can't wait to see where we are in 3-5 years. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind another top 10 draft pick as we are due for some lottery luck at some point. I do not want a first round exit and being content to just have made the playoffs. I want to be a perennial contender again and that is what the Yzerplan is all about.

Depth depth and depth. A nice problem to have. Soderblom is looking better than most people thought. Making a case to be on the roster opening night. Fingers crossed the Red Wings are playing meaningful hockey down the stretch. Haven't been this excited for a Wings season to start in a long long time.

As Feds stated, coaching could be a huge difference maker if Lalonde can get the PP and PK at least half decent which it hasn't been for years. If he can do that and cut down on the 5 on 5 goals against, they could be battling for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

Defense is improved but i still find it lacking on the left side. To me they still need a top 4 LD and from what i have seen so far in pre-season, that is not Edvinsson for this season. I also don't think Maatta looks like a top 4 guy either. If i would rate the LD prospects in terms of who i think could be in the Wings lineup this season, it would be Viro, Johansson and then Edvinsson. Still would have liked for Yzerman to trade for Sanheim or Theodore and pair him with Seider and have Chiarot paired with Hronek. That would knock the LDs where i think they should be playing as right now they are all up a spot of where they should be.

No doubt the Wings finally have depth up front and could possibly be icing 3 scoring lines for the first time in a long time. They are still somewhat weak with scoring centers but they have plenty of wing depth. Soderblom, Berggren are making a case to make the team but i doubt they start in Detroit. Zadina looks much more confident with the puck and Veleno was just flying last night and looks much faster. Ras just looks the same to me and i think his ceiling is still just a 4th line center or 3rd line winger. I would consider moving him in a trade either for a more offensive center or a top 4 LD to play with Seider.

For me the only way this team gets another top 10 pick is if they suffer a lot of injuries to key players. Otherwise, i think they will fight until the end for a playoff spot and be out of the top 10 of the draft. Hard to say if they make the playoffs or not.

Special Teams. Wings MUST get much better. It's cost them way too many games. They also need either Ned or Husso to really take the starter job and be a bonafide top tier goalie in this league. They won't make a deep playoff run without these items.

I still think they are somewhat weak at the center position (with the exception of Larkin). We'll see how Andrew Copp does... I'm hoping he will live up to the hype. I am excited to see the forward depth this organization has in the system. Grand Rapids is going to have more talent than they've had in probably a decade. It will be fun to watch Cross Hanas, Edvinsson, and the rest of the prospects play here in GR. I think Sodorblom could actually make the lineup on opening night given how good he looks playing in preseason. Berggren will most likely continue to develop in GR and I do think he will be a legit NHL player. He's still pretty young.

It's just too bad Holland delayed the proper rebuilt by about 5 years.... because it didn't have to happen. I have faith in the Yzerplan. My only fear is that the Wings still don't have the lottery pick super stars most teams need to be a true cup contender. We'll see how things go. There's definitely some excitement for this team that it hasn't had in many years.

So glad to have a blogger again. Welcome Mr. Yager... and thanks for doing the guest blog.

Defense is improved but i still find it lacking on the left side. To me they still need a top 4 LD and from what i have seen so far in pre-season, that is not Edvinsson for this season. I also don't think Maatta looks like a top 4 guy either. If i would rate the LD prospects in terms of who i think could be in the Wings lineup this season, it would be Viro, Johansson and then Edvinsson. Still would have liked for Yzerman to trade for Sanheim or Theodore and pair him with Seider and have Chiarot paired with Hronek. That would knock the LDs where i think they should be playing as right now they are all up a spot of where they should be.

I would hope that Nic Hague would be the one Stevie deals for. Vegas could use a pair of our LD's for him. Say our Hagg and Johansson.....And Nic seems like the kind of D-man that Yzerman drools over.

I would hope that Nic Hague would be the one Stevie deals for. Vegas could use a pair of our LD's for him. Say our Hagg and Johansson.....And Nic seems like the kind of D-man that Yzerman drools over.
- HenryHockey

Serious question. Why would you want Hague over Johansson? Size? I thought Johansson was a great skater projected to be a two way top 4D.

I definitely agree that Johansson is a prime trade candidate. Steve didn't draft him and prefers bigger defenseman, as witnessed by his highly drafted D-men in Detroit as well as his D core in Tampa Bay. I, however, believe it is more likely Johansson will be moved for a centerman prospect, where the team is most shallow. Edvinsson(6'6") should cement his place in the lineup by season's end while Wallinder(6'4") will most likely join him next year. Buium(6'3") and Tuomisto(6'4") are prime prospects within the pipeline. All are Yzerman draft picks.

If the top players stay healthy, the special teams improve, and at least one of the two goalies has a great year, this team could surprise.

I'm still very skeptical about the defense, which on paper is only marginally better than last year. Chiarot's a big question mark; he's probably not as bad as his metrics suggest he is, but is he actually good? I'm not optimistic. Will be interesting to see how he plays next to Seider.

Depth up front is obviously much better. The biggest problem remains lack of elite talent. Larkin, Bertuzzi, and Vrana are really good players but not stars (or at the very best, they're only borderline stars), and at ages 26-27, they're not suddenly going to jump up to that level. It is really really hard to contend in the NHL if you don't have any players on the level of a MacKinnon, or Makar, or Kucherov, or Hedman, or Ovechkin, or Crosby, or ... you get the idea.

I think the Red Wings are on a good course to being respectable, even above average. But whether we get back to contending again anytime soon, I think, depends on lot on how good Raymond/Seider end up being, and whether or not Yzerman can find a way to acquire or develop at least one (or probably two) more legit all-star talents in the next couple of years.

I definitely agree that Johansson is a prime trade candidate. Steve didn't draft him and prefers bigger defenseman, as witnessed by his highly drafted D-men in Detroit as well as his D core in Tampa Bay. I, however, believe it is more likely Johansson will be moved for a centerman prospect, where the team is most shallow. Edvinsson(6'6") should cement his place in the lineup by season's end while Wallinder(6'4") will most likely join him next year. Buium(6'3") and Tuomisto(6'4") are prime prospects within the pipeline. All are Yzerman draft picks.
- todd3066

Yzerman drafted Johansson though and he's given them no reason to move him when LD is still the weakest position at the NHL level for the org.

My bad, I thought he was drafted in 2018 by Holland. I still believe he'll be moved within the next year, but Yzerman won't just give him away. The current lineup may be lacking at LD, but that is soon to change due to the abundance of LD talent in the pipeline.

Edvinsson will be in GR

Holy Cow! Imagine my surprise when I saw the Red Wings logo on HB. Hopefully this is long-term!

Edvinsson will be in GR
- wingz4life

Which is fine. Seider debuted in DY+3. This is only DY+2 for Edvinsson.

Which is fine. Seider debuted in DY+3. This is only DY+2 for Edvinsson.
- Feds91Stammer

Agree, but I suspect Seider would have had played some or maybe even most of DY+2 in Detroit if not for the pandemic screwing up the NHL/AHL calendar and Seider being committed to Sweden for the full season.

Serious question. Why would you want Hague over Johansson? Size? I thought Johansson was a great skater projected to be a two way top 4D.
- Minnyhock

Hague would strengthen that weak left side right now and is still young at 23 yo and Albert is only 2 years younger at 21. There are plenty of LD in GR to give for one very sturdy NHLer.

Depth up front is obviously much better. The biggest problem remains lack of elite talent. Larkin, Bertuzzi, and Vrana are really good players but not stars (or at the very best, they're only borderline stars), and at ages 26-27, they're not suddenly going to jump up to that level. It is really really hard to contend in the NHL if you don't have any players on the level of a MacKinnon, or Makar, or Kucherov, or Hedman, or Ovechkin, or Crosby, or ... you get the idea.
- Sven22

Spot on Sven22... I wrote a piece during the Finals where I examined the elite talent in comparison to the Wings. One fact that stood out to me was that among the top 40 point producers in the league last year, only three players were on non-playoff teams. Also, if you were to dig in:

Tampa Bay #1 & #2 Centers (Stamkos & Point) combined points: 199*
Colorado #1 & #2 Centers (MacKinnon & Kadri) combined points: 207*
*used PPG if all players played 82 games.

Detroit’s top 2 centers: 115 points

Clearly the Wings lack the elite talent you speak of. However, on our current roster, Lucas Raymond could get there. I think he has the potential and I've seen him be a more confident playmaker this preseason. I know he isn't a centermen but if him & Vrana can have a high offensive output as well as be accountable defensively they will be a nice left and right hook to Larkin and Copp.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to you all for reading the blog and for contributing to the conversation. I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts. One of my favorite things is to nerd out with hockey folk, so keep it coming. I hope I get to continue to provide meaningful content throughout the season. Thanks again for giving the blog a chance. LGRW!

I don't think their defence got better at all. Chiarot was pretty bad last year and those types don't age well. What else did they add? Maataa. About as "meh" as they come.

I don't think their defence got better at all. Chiarot was pretty bad last year and those types don't age well. What else did they add? Maataa. About as "meh" as they come.
- Gertner

Then you don't know how bad some of last year's defensmen that Yzerman has gotten rid of. Danny Dekeyser, Nick Leddy (turnover machine) , Troy Stetcher have all gone. Edvinsson will most likely be a top 4 defenseman... but he may not be in the lineup this season. You haven't even seen Chiarot play yet in a Wings sweater... it's too early to already predicts he won't improve the Wings defense. I think he will. Husso in net is a big upgrade in goal compared to Greiss who was awful last year.