2022-23 NHL team preview: Detroit Red Wings

LAST SEASON

The 2021–22 season will always be remembered in Detroit as the year Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond arrived on the scene. The rookie duo made the Red Wings fun to watch and somewhat competitive again after a few miserable seasons, although it wasn’t enough for the team to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Robby Fabbri, and Jakub Vrana were among the Red Wings players who missed significant time last season, although Bertuzzi’s absences were primarily due to his unvaccinated status. The Red Wings’ special teams struggled across the board, as did goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss, and the club finished sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 32–40–14 record and 74 points.

Seider immediately became the Red Wings’ top defenseman and ultimately won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Raymond finished fourth in Calder voting and rounded out Detroit’s formidable top line with Larkin and Bertuzzi. Those two players are at the forefront of the new Red Wings youth movement, with more fresh faces expected to arrive in 2022–23.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions
David Perron, RW
Andrew Copp, C
Ville Husso, G
Dominik Kubalik, LW
Ben Chiarot, D
Olli Maatta, D
Mark Pysyk, D
Austin Czarnik, RW

Departures
Sam Gagner, C (UFA)
Marc Staal, D (FLA)
Thomas Greiss, G (STL)
Mitchell Stephens, C (MTL)
Danny DeKeyser, D (UFA)
Carter Rowney, C (UFA)
Olli Juolevi, D (ANA)
Magnus Hellberg, G (SEA)

OFFENSE

In a bit of a surprise twist, the Red Wings were one of the league’s most active teams in adding forwards through unrestricted free agency this summer. With David Perron, Andrew Copp, and Dominik Kubalik now in the fold, the Red Wings have made great strides toward combating the notion of them being a one-line team.

The Red Wings were very much a one-line team last year, with much of the forward group beyond the top unit struggling to score on a consistent basis. Larkin (69), Bertuzzi (62), and Raymond (57) all scored more than 50 points in 2021–22, but nobody else even reached 40 – Pius Suter came closest, with 36.

Perron has been as consistent as they come throughout his three (!!) tenures with the St. Louis Blues, most recently scoring 27 goals and 57 points in 67 games last season. The 34-year-old winger is a Stanley Cup champion and a quality veteran for a rebuilding team, especially on a very reasonable two-year deal. Copp’s contract is quite a bit longer, but the AAV ($5.625 million) isn’t particularly high for a 28-year-old second-line center who managed 53 points in 72 games in 2021–22. His being from Ann Arbor certainly doesn’t hurt.

Kubalik might be the Red Wings’ single most interesting off-season addition. The 27-year-old winger has struggled over the last two years to replicate his 30-goal debut season, which helped him earn a spot on the 2020 All-Rookie team and made him a Calder Trophy finalist. He could be a key piece to help Detroit’s power play improve upon its dismal 16.3 percent conversion rate from last season. The same is obviously true for Perron, who averaged more power play points per 60 than anyone not named Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl over the past three seasons combined.

DEFENSE

The Red Wings’ 2021–22 defensive group could basically be boiled down to “Seider and a bunch of other dudes.” While Detroit’s defenders still can’t hold a candle to the ones who helped the team win four Stanley Cups in an 11-season stretch, Seider should have a bit more help as he looks to stave off a sophomore slump.

Ben Chiarot joined the Red Wings on a four-year, $4.75 million-AAV deal this summer. The 31-year-old defender logged a ton of minutes for the Montreal Canadiens during their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, but his underlying numbers have not been particularly strong at any point in his career – and they took a significant downward turn last year. The Red Wings are taking a pretty big bet on Chiarot returning to form and remaining effective long into his 30s.

Olli Maatta gives the Red Wings a steady veteran presence on the left side. Last year, Detroit often played Danny DeKeyser – whose best days were long behind him – alongside Seider on the top pairing. Maatta could see some time up there this year, and he’d likely fare significantly better than his predecessor.

Free agent addition Mark Pysyk is expected to miss the first few months of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Gustav Lindstrom was an effective shutdown man for the Red Wings as a 23-year-old last year and will likely occupy Pysyk’s spot to start the year.

GOALTENDING

The Red Wings acquired pending UFA goaltender Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues this summer and subsequently signed him to a three-year, $4.75 million-AAV contract. Husso, 27, emerged as a legitimate 1A/1B option with the Blues in 2021–22, posting a 25–7–6 record and a .919 save percentage in 40 games. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do behind a defensive group that’s likely to be more porous than the one he became familiar with in St. Louis. At least, that’s the perception. The Blues were actually a poor defensive team at 5-on-5 last season, with the fourth-highest expected goals against per 60, so Husso is used to seeing lots of rubber.

Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic will form the Red Wings’ goaltending tandem this season. Nedeljkovic, 26, had a strong first half but struggled as last season wore on, although he still showed flashes of his fantastic 2020–21 performance with the Carolina Hurricanes that earned him recognition as a Calder Trophy finalist. In 59 games with the 2021–22 Red Wings, Nedeljkovic went 20–24–9 with a .901 save percentage.

Nedeljkovic is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, although it’s not too difficult to imagine the Red Wings attempting to keep him around if he starts strong this year. Top goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa almost certainly won’t be ready to play significant NHL minutes for a few more years.

One more name to remember: Jussi Olkinuora, who signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings earlier this summer. The 31-year-old Finn earned top goaltender honors at the 2022 World Championship after backstopping his team to an 8–0–0 record (along with a .948 save percentage) and the gold medal.

COACHING

Jeff Blashill is out. The 48-year-old had served as head coach of the Red Wings since the 2015–16 season, leading the team to the playoffs in his first year but failing to do so in the next six. The Red Wings declined to renew Blashill’s contract this summer, and he subsequently joined the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant.

Coincidentally, the Red Wings replaced Blashill with former Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde, who, like Blashill, is a) bald, b) American, c) a former goaltender, d) a one-time Clark Cup champion in the USHL, and e) a former Ferris State University assistant coach. The hockey world is a tiny place.

Lalonde helped the Lightning capture the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and will be tasked with helping the Red Wings return to relevance in the Atlantic Division. Bob Boughner, Alex Tanguay, and Jay Varady will serve on his staff, with Tanguay being the lone returnee from Blashill’s time in Detroit.

ROOKIES

Simon Edvinsson is the only rookie pencilled in on our projected Red Wings lineup, but he should be a pretty good one. He’s one of the top blueline prospects on the planet.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman selected Edvinsson with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-6, 207-pound left-handed defenseman racked up 19 points in 44 games with Frölunda in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League last season, with his 17 assists leading all U20 players in the league.

Edvinsson signed his entry-level deal with the Red Wings back in April and could start the season on the team’s third pairing. But if Seider’s rookie season is of any indication, the Red Wings won’t hesitate to promote Edvinsson to the top of the lineup if he shows he’s ready right away.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Can Edvinsson follow in Seider’s footsteps? One thing the Red Wings really need is a strong, consistent partner for Seider. They tried DeKeyser, Marc Staal, Jordan Oesterle, and a few others in that spot last season, but none of them really worked. If Edvinsson can jump in and play like a top-four guy at age 19, he’ll help answer a lot of questions in Detroit.

2. What does Robby Fabbri’s future hold? Fabbri looked to be on the right track in Detroit after tearing his left ACL twice as a member of the St. Louis Blues. But the 26-year-old suffered another ACL injury – this time, to his right knee – late last season, and it’s unclear when he might ready to return in 2022–23. Fabbri is an effective middle-six scoring forward when healthy, and he’s under contract through the end of the 2024–25 season.

3. Is Tyler Bertuzzi on his way out? Trade rumors followed Bertuzzi throughout the 2021–22 season, which was the most productive of his NHL career to date. The 27-year-old winger netted 30 goals in just 68 games and played with a ton of snarl on the Red Wings’ top line. He has just one year left on his current deal, which carries a $4.75 million cap hit, and is eligible to become a UFA next summer.

PREDICTION

The Red Wings should be a little better in 2022–23 than they were last season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make the playoffs. The Atlantic Division is pretty strong, and you don’t have to look far to find competing teams that have made significant improvements this summer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are pretty much locks to make it, and the Florida Panthers have a pretty good chance – although MacKenzie Weegar is a huge loss on defense. The Boston Bruins should remain competitive, especially after Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand return to the lineup around the holidays. And certainly don’t count out the Ottawa Senators, especially with Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux now in the fold.

We expect the Red Wings to have a respectable season, but even 85 points won’t be enough to qualify for the post-season. At best, they’ll likely finish fifth in the Atlantic.

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