Ten questions the Red Wings face heading into training camp
By @StefanKubus –
With an offseason shake-up comes added anticipation for the upcoming season than in years past, according to Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall. But despite names like Green, Richards, Blashill and Larkin in the Red Wings’ future, there are plenty of questions to be answered heading into training camp September 17.
Will Brad Richards, Mike Green mesh well in the lineup and make big enough impacts?
The Red Wings players sure seem to think so. Muskegon native Justin Abdelkader said Richards “brings leadership, he brings a skill set on the powerplay and can play up the middle for us, especially with Pav being out.” That can’t be overlooked. Especially early in the season with Datsyuk out and Franzen questionable, the Red Wings are going to need the smarts of Richards on offense, with the ability to contribute to the powerplay efforts, too. And Datsyuk’s absence should allow Richards time to build some chemistry with his teammates to give head coach Jeff Blashill some potential line combinations.
Kronwall said of Green, his fellow blue-liner, “we’re hoping for him to come in here and just do his thing, contribute offensively, join the rush when he can.”
Kronwall added, “people talk about the right-handed shot on the point on the powerplay, of course that’s huge. Really since (Brian Rafalski), we haven’t really had a steady presence back there.”
Is Dylan Larkin ready to make the jump?
He’s been able to produce at every level on every team he’s suited up for, but will Waterford native Dylan Larkin be able to make the final jump into the National Hockey League? His track record certainly says he can.
Larkin potted 15 goals and 47 points in 35 games as a freshman at the University of Michigan in 2014-15, good for second in the conference behind only senior teammate Zach Hyman. Following the season, Larkin decided to turn pro and suited up for six Grand Rapids playoff contests, registering five points.
After watching him in the World Championship in the Czech Republic, former head coach Mike Babcock said of Larkin in his last media scrum at Joe Louis Arena, “He’s a heck of a player. I’m jealous.” But the new Red Wings coach had the opportunity to coach Larkin for an AHL playoff series in Grand Rapids. On the eve of Red Wings development camp in early July, Blashill said, “It’s a tiny sample size but he seemed to pass all those tests in terms of small sample sizes – World Championship, World Junior, his freshman year at Michigan. I think he’s going to be a really good player. We’ll see when.”
How quickly will Blashill adapt to the NHL game?
Those current Red Wings who played under him certainly think it won’t be an issue. Blashill, of course, served as an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in 2011-12 before successfully taking hold of the Griffins’ reins. Over the course of the past four seasons, he has coached the majority of the Red Wings’ locker room – and even the likes of Danny DeKeyser and Torey Krug before that with Western Michigan and the USHL’s Indiana Ice, respectively.
“The Red Wings are in good hands,” Krug said. “Blash is a very well-prepared guy and he’s very confident in his ability and he’s always learning the game. I think one thing with him is he has a great dialogue with his players and he’s willing to adjust to game styles. He’s a student of the game, he doesn’t think he’s bigger and I think that’s an important thing for a coach and I know the Wings are in good hands for sure.”
DeKeyser also harped on Blashill’s preparedness, which could arguably be his greatest asset in year one.
“When he coached me in college, I saw a lot of things, some good qualities in him. When he’s on the ice, he makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing. There was no, ‘What’s going on? What are we doing in this situation?’ or anything like that, so he made sure we were prepared for the game and every situation, special teams, 6-on-5 and that kind of stuff.”
Which defenseman will take the next step?
Perhaps no two players were more relieved to see the coaching change in Detroit than Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith. The defensemen never quite found their groove under Mike Babcock, but with Blashill at the helm now, the slate has virtually been wiped clean, and they will have every chance to prove themselves all over again come training camp. And even with the addition of Green, the Red Wings will need someone else to take the next step to solidify their back-end.
Kronwall said of the defensive evolution in the NHL, “I think that’s one area you want to improve every year. If you look at how the game is played now, every team plays so tight. A lot of times, when a d-man can sneak up there, beat his forward, all of a sudden you’re creating a 2-on-1 somewhere and you try to take advantage of that. A lot of the offense nowadays comes from one of the d-men beating his guy, joins the rush and you get some more offense that way, because otherwise, the other guys are playing 3-on-3 pretty much the whole time.”
Likewise, up front, who will have a breakout season?
Abdelkader, a guy who took a big step last season himself by potting a career-high 21 goals and 44 points in 71 games, gave a vote of confidence to Riley Sheahan.
Sheahan, 23, is entering his second full NHL season in 2015-16 after posting a 13-23–36 line in 79 games last season. With Datsyuk out to start the season, Sheahan will get the opportunity to center the second line, likely with a familiar set of wingers in Tatar and Nyquist.
“I think he’s capable of producing even more,” Abdelkader said. “He’s a good center-ice man for us, a good guy on the powerplay, he’s a player that could definitely take another step.”
Likewise, Teemu Pulkkinen is a guy who flourished in the AHL under Blashill, but hasn’t been able to put it together at the NHL level just yet. Perhaps Blashill can spark a fire in Pulkkinen at the NHL level to propel him to the same level of scoring. Pulkkinen is coming off a season that saw him net 34 goals and 61 points in 46 games, adding 14 goals and 18 points in 16 playoff games.
Who’s the No. 1 goaltender?
When asked who he thinks can take the next step in 2015-16, Abdelkader mentioned Petr Mrazek, 23, as one of the guys, citing his brilliant stints during the 2014-15 regular season and postseason. With Blashill coming in, will it truly be a matter of who wins the job in training camp, or will he simply turn to the veteran Jimmy Howard? Mrazek won a Calder Cup with Blashill, too, so it’s not unreasonable to believe he has the inside track.
Realistically, it’s likely Jimmy Howard’s job to lose. One noteworthy point: the Red Wings play back-to-back games 17 times this season, the second most in the league, so no matter who the starter is, the backup should still see plenty of work.
Will we see a rejuvenated Johan Franzen?
The 35-year-old Franzen has never played a full season in his ten-year NHL career. In fact, the most games he has played in a season is 80, which came back in his 2005-06 rookie campaign. Franzen has unfortunately been plagued by injuries, concussions sparking the latest war. The Red Wings took to the ice at Joe Louis Arena in early September for informal skates and, despite experiencing some setbacks along the way as it often happens with the unpredictable nature of concussions, Franzen’s progress should come as encouraging news for Red Wings fans.
“It feels good so far,” Franzen said. “It’s probably too early to tell until I start playing games and stuff, but I’m going at it pretty hard, trying to go a little bit too much right now actually, just to see that I can take it, grinding it.
“My threshold is getting higher and higher every week, and I tried to listen to my body and push as hard as I can, but if I get set back, I let off a little bit and start from scratch again and see how much I can take. It’s kind of just been building up ever since the playoffs.”
With all the talk surrounding the additions of Richards and Green, Abdelkader likened Franzen’s return as a free agent acquisition of its own.
I think it’s a wait-and-see approach. Obviously, with how things finished, he’s got to get out, he’s got to get bumped a little bit, be in some contact and see how it goes from there. I think it would be a big bonus because it’s still a wait-and-see approach, but if he does play for us, he’s a perennial 20-25 goal scorer at least and he’s a big body that could definitely help us.”
Will the team fare better in shootouts this season?
The Red Wings went 4-10 in the shootout in 2014-15, which was not the worst record in the league actually, despite how poorly it seemed they fared. That nod goes to Philadelphia’s 3-11 mark. Howard went 2-8 last season in the shootout, while Mrazek went 2-2. Those ten shootout losses signify ten extra points Detroit could’ve had in the standings, which would’ve put the Red Wings past Montreal for first in the Atlantic Division. It’s not probable they would’ve taken all ten points, but it shows the impact the shootout really makes.
Perhaps the 3-on-3 overtime format that Detroit general manager Ken Holland has clamored for will help keep the Red Wings out of the shootout this season altogether.
What kind of season will Gustav Nyquist have?
Nyquist did set a career high in points in 2014-15, with 54. However, that came in a full 82-game season and is just five more points than he posted in 57 games in 2013-14. I don’t think it’s proper in labeling it a sophomore slump, but given the drop in point-per-game production (from 0.84 in 2013-14 to 0.66 in 2014-15) and plus-minus (from plus-16 to minus-11), will we see Nyquist ‘rebound’ and take a step up in 2015-16?
It’s a curious case, especially, given the torrid pace he was scoring at in the middle of the 2013-14 season. There’s such a small, wild sample size to base predictions off of. The most positive thing, however, is Nyquist’s consistent goal production, having scored 28 in 2013-14 and 27 this past season. Goal scorers like that just don’t grow on trees.
With Holland having made a free-agency splash, will he similarly open up to the trade market?
For the first time it what seems like a long time, Holland was one of the biggest players this past offseason, acquiring veterans Green and Richards. Is that a sign he’s also willing to make a similar splash in the trade market, perhaps even at the trade deadline? Last season, Holland dealt for veteran forward Erik Cole and right-handed defenseman Marek Zidlicky to help bolster the roster.
If some of the current fringe players are still struggling to find their groove under Blashill and also depending on how the team is performing, perhaps Holland will seize the opportunity to ‘go for it’ with a deadline acquisition once again.