Five Red Wings players scored ca. 60% of the goals
The Red Wings are hoping to get a breakthrough performance in Nate Danielson to find success this season. The team will also need for the top players to provide the bulk of the offense. Team Captain Dylan Larkin has reached the 30 goal mark for four straight seasons, being a mark of consistency for the club.
Alex Debrincat led the team with 39 goals, and Lucas Raymond contributed 27. Patrick Kane was the only other Red Wing to break 20, scoring 21 at fourth most for the team. Marco Kasper just missed the mark scoring 19 in his rookie season. The top five scorers contributed 58% of the total goals for Detroit last season.
Candidates to add more goals to the roster
The scoring dropped off steeply outside of the top five. Jonatan Berggren’s 12 goals came in at 6th, with JB averaging just 12:59 in ice time. Compher, Tarasenko and Rasmussen all had 11 goals, and Copp came in at 10. No one else in the lineup cracked double digits for the Red Wings last year.
In terms of goal scoring, James Van Riemsdyk could be an improvement over the departing Tarasenko. JVR scored 16 goals for Columbus averaging just 12:24 per night. He could see a significant bump, and even an opportunity to play on Larkin’s line. The top six could well be counted on for around 60% of the scoring once again.
The bottom six needs to bring more scoring support
Four of Detroit’s five top scorers from last year have the opportunity to play in the upcoming Olympic Games. That three week commitment added to a condensed schedule could spell trouble for the team’s top players. Injuries will almost certainly factor into Detroit’s success or failure in the upcoming season.
Larkin, in particular, has tried to carry the team through the rebuild. He played over 20 minutes per night, leading all forwards by 1:17 with Raymond coming in second at 18:43. An injury to either of those players would leave a significant gap in the roster.
Too many players have underperformed expectations over the past few years. Copp and Compher in particular need to be carrying more of the offense. Detroit can’t afford to go backward in scoring while they try to limit goals against. The bottom six needs to provide more to help carry the team back to the post season.
Hi again,
of course the top 5/6 has been working well (and how about Seider, Edvinson and Al J – a nice surprise) but from what I saw on the 10 minutes replays (I cannot watch full games but it is still nice, I won’t complain), I think Compher’s work is overlooked. I like the way he keeps calm and thinks the game. He is not trying to be what he is not, cheating or being over agressive to win absolutely by any possible ways (who said Tkachuk ?).
Yes, his numbers should be better to help, and a lot of fans will say it will not make Detroit a better team, I understand that, but I like his mindset. In France, we would say “esprit sportif” and it reminds me a bit of what you can find a lot in rugby : physical but respectful of the players and the referee.
Take care.
I really appreciate you stopping by! We absolutely need Compher to compete, and he and Copp had some chemistry on the PK when Copp was healthy. His scoring was part of why they brought him in, and just way too many guys in that position (Compher, Copp, Tarasenko) making around 5m just didn’t contribute there. Edvinsson’s numbers already have him as the #2 Dman, the D really struggled to contribute but he knocked in 7 goals in that campaign. Really exciting to see his step forward. The top 5 didn’t score enough to have so much drop off unfortunately. They need to spread the scoring out a bit, but they need a lot more aggressive D zone play for sure. I do love Rugby, and from what I remember France was pretty happy after the 4 nations!!
Welcome! Good to see Wings fans across the globe!!
Some valid points in your post. We have a decent top 6, no doubt. There is a weakness on the wing. However, the 2d line has a ton of potential, but without a stud top line, opposing teams can focus the top D line on our 2d line and cause issues. We need someone to step up and give us 2 lines that can take a game over. But, we need a ‘super star’ who can literally take over a game over and push opposing teams to make mistakes, and to carry us over the line. Like Marner, Eichel, etc… Danielson or MBN can spread out our top 2 O lines enough to make it hard for opposing team D-lines to apply sufficient pressure and shut us down.
I’ll say this; we have 3 really good D guys, 2 of which are stars, 1 of whom is a legit super star. Convince me I’m wrong ???? (Mo Sides, properly deployed, is a Norris Tropy nominee). AlJo’s going to be a really good defender, more shutting down offenses than being an offensive D dude, but reliable and steady. Throw ASP into the mix and I think we will have a rolling top 2 d-lines that will be very formidable. And honestly, Hamonic’s not a bad get. Not what he used to be for sure, but he’ll be more reliable than Holl by far. I’d dare say often better than Chriarot. But again, we don’t have THE guy in our current construct. Mo, I think is the guy, but having an Ekblad would seal the deal.
Your post definitely made me think! Glad to see you stopping by!