Photo Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images
Maybe it’s a little premature right now, but it’s hard not to focus on the few positives amidst the drama surrounding Detroit at the moment. Despite Dylan Larkin’s trade request being a pretty major setback, Detroit’s best players have used the chance to take a clear stance on where they see the organization in the future.
Over the weekend, both Simon Edvinsson and Alex DeBrincat have had pieces of news come out about their commitment to the Red Wings, and for any fan, it should inspire hope.
Despite being without a contract, Simon Edvinsson has pledged he will show up to training camp. It’s virtually unheard of in the NHL. The training camp deadline is typically something players use for leverage. Jeremy Swayman and Moritz Seider both held out into camp in recent memory.
Edvinsson prioritizing winning hockey over getting paid for it is a real show of pride for the Red Wings organization and, frankly, one the Red Wings need right now.
In a similar boat is Alex DeBrincat, who’s due for an extension. He made it clear over the weekend that he wanted to stay in Detroit for the long haul despite the Dylan Larkin drama.
With both Simon Edvinsson and Alex DeBrincat making at least verbal pledges to the team, how does this Red Wings core with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider look?
Detroit’s Core Four is Amongst the League’s Best
Moritz Seider (left) and Lucas Raymond (right) for the Red Wings | Photo: AP
Truthfully, this starts and ends with Moritz Seider and the huge leap he took this past season. It’s no question that Seider is one of the best players in the league right now. He finished last season 5th in Norris voting and 11th in Hart voting without having his team make the postseason. The defensive ability he has is overwhelming in the same way the Nikita Kucherov’s of the league are overwhelming offensively.
With Seider firmly in the upper echelon of NHL defencemen, Detroit can comfortably say they have one of the best futures on defense, and that only gets better with Simon Edvinsson.
I’m not the biggest believer in Edvinsson, but that’s only because the ceiling is so high. Edvinsson is going to be a 6’6″ defensive wall who will be around that 35-40 point mark without needing power play time to do it. The Edvinsson-Seider pair is amongst the best in the NHL; very few teams have two defencemen who are even comparable.
On the back end, the Red Wings have established the hardest part of a Cup-winning defense core. They’ve put together multiple big-bodied, two-way, shutdown defencemen who can log huge minutes against top competition. It’s these two who are going to be logging over 30 minutes when Detroit sees the postseason, and the rest of the blue line just needs to tread water beneath them.
Up front, the Red Wings aren’t as lucky, though. They lack a truly elite first line center even now with Dylan Larkin, but their two top-end wingers are still nothing to scoff at. Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond are still elite at their position.
For both of their times in Detroit, neither forward has really had a fair chance to succeed. Lucas Raymond has spent his career next to Detroit’s best center in Dylan Larkin, but his opposite wing has been filled by less than top-end talent. That alone might be overcome, but when you’re taking on some of the hardest defensive deployments on those same shifts, virtually undermanned, it makes even-strength production pretty difficult. Even with that, Raymond looks like he’s found his floor as an 80-point winger with a 90-point ceiling if he’s around some quality linemates.
It’s a similar story for Alex DeBrincat. The Cat has spent each of his three seasons playing alongside Patrick Kane and one of J.T. Compher and Andrew Copp. While those lines have had success, it’s almost entirely a result of DeBrincat’s play. At this point in their careers, each of those forwards aren’t equipped to play top-six minutes but DeBrincat has quietly dragged them to playing as solid top-six lines.
The Need Remains Supplemental
Red Wings forward Andrew Copp | AP Photo/Paul Sancya
The problem isn’t that Detroit lacks the star power. I’d argue that in that department, they’re fine. I can say confidently that Seider and Edvinsson are as good as Carolina’s top-two defencemen, if not better. I can also say confidently Raymond and DeBrincat are as good as Carolina’s top-two forwards, if not better. The reason the Red Wings still struggle is because unlike Carolina, their abundance of cap space hasn’t been used to supplement that talent at all.
Currently, Detroit has four top-six forwards if you count Dylan Larkin. This will mark the fourth consecutive season where the Red Wings will be trying to make the playoffs without an adequate top-six.
While it remains to be seen the impact of the rookies, the bottom-six has also been one of the worst units in the league. It’s created one of the worst even-strength offenses, where the only time points get on the board is when the power-play is out together.
You don’t need to fill the gaps with Nikita Kucherov, hell you don’t need to fill them with Brandon Hagel. I stand on the fact you don’t need superstars to fix this team, you need players who belong in their respective slots.
The new general manager has the hard part finished, the core is there and promising. The question is if he can do what Steve Yzerman couldn’t: polish things around the edges so that Detroit can begin to compete.