With two games left in the preseason much is still up in the air about the Detroit Red Wings most needed area for improvement, the Defense. The Wings have already sent Mattias Backman and Ryan Sproul down to Grand Rapids for the remainder of the preseason and foreseeable future. That leaves Xavier Ouellet, Alexey Marchenko and surprise stand out Nick Jensen to challenge for the 6th spot on the bottom pairing.
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"Babcock had this to say, “We’re going to do everything we can to upgrade our D” Babcock said. “So is that the guys who’ve been here in the past, is that someone new? I don’t know the answer for sure but I got two more opportunities to watch before we got to make decisions.”"
The two remaining games are set to have stiff competition as both Boston and Toronto should be bringing most of their opening night rosters to challenge the Red Wings. Babcock will be bringing two different squads to the games to give him a wider view of his options. Babcock will be looking to see if anyone can shake loose from the back. What is of note is what he has seen, or rather has not seen, from Jakub Kindl and Brian Lashoff. This has left the door open for the three remaining prospects to stand out and steal a job.
It will not be easy however, all three are still remarkably young by Red Wings standards and historically speaking the tie has always gone to the veteran. The one thing on the kids side is that while they seem to be clawing and scratching for every inch of ice time, Kindl and Lashoff have looked rather pedestrian especially against Pittsburgh as both went minus two while watching the opposition score the only two goals of the contest.
Looking back at the last 6 games Jensen is the only wings defenseman to score a goal in the preseason. Ouellet’s play has been compared to being at the level of an already established defenseman in the NHL and beyond his years. While Marchenko was the first call up last season and at 6’2 and 212lbs he is a very sturdy and responsible defenseman who also makes the smart plays and has a good first pass, he has also been rock solid since returning from an ankle injury that cut his season short and even played top line minutes with Brendan Smith several games ago.
Finally per Bill Roose at NHL.com one more Babcock Quote:
"“I like when we move the puck. I like when the puck gets going in a hurry. I like guys who can make good decisions and move it,” Babcock said Thursday. “We got a group here that’s been here in the past. One of the things you don’t want to get too carried away with is – it is exhibition – and sometimes the engagement isn’t what it should be. Some guys are battling for jobs. That’s just the facts, so we’ll just watch it happen.”"
What does it mean when you put it all together? Well it depends. If Lashoff and Kindl continue their play and any of the three kids can play above level, someone should be out of a job, if not both incumbents.
Sadly
If Kindl and Lashoff improve even marginally or the prospects somehow can’t move the barometer a little bit more, then the kids will all find themselves back in Grand Rapids and the Red Wings will start the season with the exact same defense as last season that Babcock himself said was not good enough. There are a lot of moving parts and two games left along with other variables such as injuries or a trade, however the deadline for the final 23 man and cap compliant roster is Tuesday October 7th at 5:00pm EST,
for my sanity
hopefully we will know shortly after the Boston game, but for certain we will know by the seventh.