Detroit Red Wings 2015-16 Season Primer

Looking at the Detroit Red Wings heading into this season – outlook, potential lines, roster, top prospects, draft history, stats and season schedule.

Projected 2015-16 Range: 3rd in the Atlantic, playoff bubble team
2014-15 record: 43-25-14, 100 points
Where they finished: 3rd in the Atlantic Division, 6th in the Eastern Conference, 11th in NHL

Total Cap Hit: $71,974,543
Total Salary: $76,420,833
Cap Space: -$574,543
Source: General Fanager

In: Eric Tangradi, LW (FA – Mtl) , Mike Green, D (FA – Wsh), Brad Richards, C (FA – Chi), Jeff Blashill, Head Coach (Named)

Out: Kevin Porter, W/C (FA – Pit)
Source: Sports Forecaster

Outlook for the Season:

For the first time in 11 years, the Detroit Red Wings won’t have Mike Babcock standing behind their bench as head coach. The Red Wings have been in the playoffs in 24 straight seasons, including all ten of Babcock’s seasons in Detroit. They won a Stanley Cup and lost in a Cup final series under his watch.

Can the Red Wings continue their run of success under new head coach Jeff Blashill?

Last season, Babcock led his battle-tested group through a surprisingly successful season. Despite being the fourth-oldest team in the NHL (not a compliment in an increasingly young skater’s game) and the second-oldest playoff team (only St. Louis was older), the Red Wings managed their eighth 100-point season during Babcock’s tenure.

Though familiar faces Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk finished first and second in team scoring, youngsters Tomas Tatar (24 years old) and Gustav Nyquist (25 years old) finished third and fourth, showing some promise for the future. Danny DeKeyser (24 y.o.) led the team in defensive points shares and Petr Mrazek wrestled the starter’s job from Jimmy Howard in the playoffs. These young players will be key for new coach Blashill to continue the tremendous playoffs streak he’s inherited.

In 2015-16, the forwards corps in Detroit remains deep. Zetterberg and Datsyuk return with 2014-15 breakout player Justin Abdelkader likely on their wing. Datsyuk, now 36 years old, continues to be a timeless wonder. His offense remains top-notch and his puck possession work is elite plus. He remains one of the game’s preeminent stars and an unreal talent with the puck on his blade – and the puck almost always is.

Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist are both talented scorers who are projected to play on the second line. Brad Richards, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Tomas Jurco offer a combination or experience, scoring, and skill as part of the top-nine forwards group.

On defense, 34 year old Niklas Kronwall and 30 year old Jonathan Ericsson return to man the top-two jobs. Kronwall has stepped into the number one role vacated by Nicklas Lidstrom. Though Kronwall has never quite become the clear top-pair defender the Red Wings have needed, his overall contributions to the club make him an indispensable member of the team’s defense pairings.

Though Kronwall, along with Ericsson, remain atop the depth chart, newly acquired Mike Green and last season’s defensive point shares leader Danny DeKeyser may prove to be the superior defense tandem on the team. The pair offer a potentially deadly mix of offensive pressure and defensive responsibility.

In goal, things have become rather muddied for the Red Wings. Long-time starter Jimmy Howard posted subpar results last season. Upstart 23 year old Petr Mrazek played all seven of Detroit’s playoff games last season. In Howard’s own words, the fight for the number one job this season is on.

Howard’s performance has slipped over the past several seasons and it’s very likely that Mrazek takes over at the starter for good at some point this season.

In the end, the Detroit Red Wings are not an easy team to rule out. Year after year, they rely on promotion of seasoned AHL talent to bolster their lineup, adding youthful legs to surround the veteran core. The biggest difference this year is that the team has a new head coach who was promoted in the same way that Red Wings’ prospects climb the ranks. Expect little dropoff for a professional franchise. In the Eastern Conference, the Red Wings remain a playoff team.

Trending Up:

Tomas Tatar – Tatar managed an excellent 56 points in 82 games last year. In the current scoring era, those totals make Tatar a clear first-line-quality winger. He’s known for his speed, tenacity, and versatility. As Zetterberg ages, look for Tatar to slowly take on a larger offensive role this season. His scoring rates are strong and his possession is already elite.

Danny DeKeyser – assuming a fair number of minutes as a top-four defender, DeKeyser posted 31 points and acquitted himself nicely last season. He’s known as an excellent all-around defender who possesses puck-moving skills, a big frame, and versatility. If he’s paired with Green this season, expect some secondary inclusion in offensive production that will inflate his point totals.

Trending Down:

Datsyuk and Zetterberg – nearing the end of illustrious NHL careers, Datsyuk and Zetterberg must eventually slow down – at least in theory. With a number of talented offensive prospects climbing the ranks in Detroit, expect the veterans to cede some of their time-on-ice to provide prime opportunities to forwards like Tatar, Nyquist, and Pulkkinen.

Justin Abdelkader – riding a career-high on-ice shooting percentage of 9.7 percent (career 7.9 percent) Abdelkader speeded his way to a breakout 23 goals and 44 points. A swift complementary player, Abdelkader is likely to continue being relied on in the Red Wings’ top-six. But, even in a contract year, don’t expect Abdelkader to reach or surpass last season’s excellent output.

Trade Deadline Outlook:  

The Detroit Red Wings always make the playoffs. Always. This season, the team has enough talent to set their eyes on the post-season one more time. The team has always been guarded when dealing for veteran help. Expect this team to shop prospects and picks for another capable defender and some bottom-six help near the trade deadline. It’s easy to imagine the team wishing to rid themselves of Jimmy Howard’s contract. Look for the team to try for that move as the deadline approaches.

Projected 2015-16 Range: 3rd in the Atlantic, playoff bubble team

Written by Sean Tierney, who can be found @SeanTierneyTSS

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule

Potential line combinations, defensive pairings, and goalies.

Henrik Zetterberg – Pavel Datsyuk – Justin Abdelkader
Gustav Nyquist – Brad Richards – Tomas Tatar
Darren Helm – Riley Sheahan – Teemu Pulkkinen
Drew Miller – Joakim Andersson – Tomas Jurco
Johan Franzen – Luke Glendening

Niklas Kronwall – Jonathan Ericsson
Dan DeKeyser – Mike Green
Brendan Smith – Kyle Quincey
Jakub Kindl

Petr Mrazek
Jimmy Howard

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule

Some top Red Wings prospect lists heading into the season.

* Different sites have different guidelines for who is a ‘prospect.’ Dobber Prospects bases their rankings on future fantasy value.

1. Dylan Larkin: Centre – 6’1” / 190 lbs – Larkin had a monster season scoring 47 points in 35 games with Michigan in the Big Ten. Larkin was also impressive in international hockey when he represented USA at the WJC scoring five goals and seven points in five games. He made the USA WC roster and looked very impressive playing against NHL talent despite his modest scoring results of one assist in ten games. Larkin will turn pro and given the Wings M.O., will probably be headed to Grand Rapids for the upcoming season before working his way up the depth chart. Larkin is a key piece to the Red Wings future and has first line potential. Keep an eye on Larkin, he could arrive sooner than later.

2. Anthony Mantha: Right/Left Wing – 6’5” / 214 lbs – Following his impressive draft year in which Mantha scored 50 goals, he returned to junior and scored at a goal per game pace through the regular season and playoffs all the way to the Memorial Cup, earning a spot on the Canadian WJC team as well. After a dominant final season in junior, and with NHL size, there was even thought he could walk right onto a top six roster spot with the big club. But a broken leg at training camp derailed that notion. Mantha was underwhelming in his rookie AHL season scoring 15 goals and 33 points in 62 games and was described as “Very, Very, very disappointing” by Jim Devellano the Wings Senior Vice President. Despite disappointing some more in 16 playoff games scoring only two goals and four points, expectations are still high for Mantha to establish his goal scoring prowess at the pro level and quickly establish himself as a top six scoring winger with Detroit.

3. Evgeni Svechnikov: Left Wing – 6’2” / 199 lbs – Svechnikov had an impressive North American debut, playing for the Screaming Eagles scoring 78 points in 55 games. Considered to be a one dimensional scoring player, he really excels at that one dimension. He has good size, but he could be more aggressive. Svechnikov will be returning to Cape Breton for another year in junior and after that expect Detroit to season him some more in Grand Rapids to allow him to develop at the pro level.

4. Alexey Marchenko: Defence – 6’3” / 210 lbs – Marchenko was called up twice in the season, playing a combined 13 games and scoring his first NHL goal. Marchenko also saw some playoff games and played almost 17 minutes a game. While his offensive and fantasy upside may have a lower ceiling than some of the other Wings prospects, he is on the verge of becoming an NHL regular who is solid defensively and should eventually settle into a middle pairing role.

5. Landon Ferraro: Right Wing – 6’0” / 186 lbs – Ferraro played in his fourth season in the AHL and his scoring totals have been rather consistent, reaching a career highs in goals with 27, a plus -14 and 61 PIM’s. He also played in three NHL regular season games, notching his first NHL goal. He played in all seven playoff games, seeing just oven ten minutes a game on average. He has a legit chance to make the Wings out of training camp as he has nothing left to prove or learn at the AHL level.

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule

A look at the Detroit Red Wings drafting from 2010 to 2015.

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule

Detroit Red Wings 2014-15 player stats.

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule

A look at the Detroit Red Wings 2015-16 schedule.

Red Wings: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects | Draft History | Stats | Schedule