Because all we can do is guess right now.
Educated guessing, of course, but guessing nonetheless.
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First: I heard back from a few of you after last week's rant about Zadina needing to score 20 goals THIS SEASON. It seems we can agree Zadina's production may be part of coach Jeff Blashill's "interview on the job" type scenario this season now that Steve Yzerman is his new boss. Keep in mind, Blashill has helped Larkin, Athanasiou and Mantha all turn into offensive threats, but it didn't happen overnight.
Food for thought.
The possible lineup 📋
Here's what I have:
Forwards:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Bertuzzi | Dylan Larkin | Anthony Mantha |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Valtteri Filppula | Filip Zadina |
| Evgeny Svechnikov/Taro Hirose | Frans Nielsen | Michael Rasmussen/Jacob de la Rose |
| Justin Abdelkader/Adam Erne | Luke Glendening | Darren Helm |
Notes: What is going on with Svechnikov? He was hurt all last year, but can he be healthy enough to get a spot on this roster when the season starts? Also, is Justin Abdelkader in danger of losing a spot on this roster? He is coming off of a real bad year (6 goals, 13 assists, -14 rating in 71 games played) and the Red Wings have suddenly added Erne to the roster. Abdelkader has that hefty contract that does not look good sitting on the 4th line.
What about Christoffer Ehn? The 23-year-old winger played 60 games with the Wings this past season (3 goals, 6 assists) -- is he in the mix?
Finally, Taro Hirose needs to get a good tryout for a full-time spot on this team -- he looked so good at the end of this past season. He looks like a cerebral player who can jump in and contribute right away.
Defense:
| Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
|---|---|
| Dennis Cholowski | Filip Hronek/Niklas Kronwall |
| Patrik Nemeth/Oliwer Kaski | Jonathan Ericsson/Trevor Daley |
Notes: No one knows what this defense is. We do know that it's not, by any standard, "good," and that's not exactly an attack on some of the players here. It's just a mess of different/bad contracts, aging players, young players with unknown value, and players like Cholowski and Hronek who look like the future, but we still can't quite tell -- although Hronek dominated at the 2019 World Championships.
There's also Madison Bowey, who the Red Wings acquired through the Nick Jensen trade in February. Is he competing for a spot on the Wings?
As for Niklas Kronwall, is he even playing hockey this year? Yzerman said the veteran has a spot if he wants it. Does he want it? It's almost September.
And then there's Kaski, a young pro in Finland who decided to jump over to North America. Same goes for Moritz Seider, the 6th-overall pick out of Germany. Is he on the team at some point this year, or is he staying in Germany?
What is this defense? Who is actually going to be playing for the Red Wings?
We want to know!
Goalies:
- Jimmy Howard
- Jonathan Bernier
- Calvin Pickard
Offseason moves recap
I put together a quick recap of the major Red Wings offseason moves here.
Who do you want to see? 👀
Is there a player on this team who you want to see more of this season and why? Let me know and we can discuss.
Contact me (Dave Bartkowiak Jr.): dbartkowiak@wdiv.com and @DaveBartko.