“He doesn’t look like the same playe

Photo credit: NHL.com

Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Todd McLellan thinks Marco Kasper looks different during his sophomore season in the NHL.

He’s been deployed to the third line and has scored only 3 points in 20 games during this ongoing slump.

Kasper was invisible during the Red Wings’ 5-0 shutout by the New York Islanders and has been held pointless for the last ten games, with a -7 rating.

This was after the game against the Islanders, where he’d been given a misconduct:

Kasper found himself not only demoted to the fourth line during Thursday’s loss, but he was also whistled for a 10-minute misconduct for reasons unknown.

McLellan has witnessed the officials not only give Kasper a misconduct that wasn’t explained, but he’s also seen the player’s confidence dwindle.

“I think it’s obvious, it’s not where it needs to be,” McLellan said of Kasper’s confidence meter. “But it’s difficult when you’ve entered the league and a lot of good things have happened for you, and then you come back, and all that momentum goes away.”

«But confidence isn’t something that’s in your back pocket and you just lose it at the mall or leave it in your car,” he continued. “Over time, it erodes, and you’ve got to find ways to stop the momentum and get it back. And he’s frustrated, he got in a fight at the end of the game, and maybe that will trigger it.”

Kasper would drop the gloves with defenseman Tony DeAngelo in the third period as his frustration with the game hit a boiling point.

Last season, he scored 37 points (19-18) and was part of the Calder Trophy discussion in 2024-25.

They expected him to bounce back and find success once again this year, but he has failed.

For someone who led Austria in a tie with goals scored (4), maybe he can find that kind of confidence once again.

Previously on Red Wings Insider

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