The 5 Most Underrated Detroit Red Wings in 2015-2016

To be “underrated” is defined as having one’s extent, value, and/or importance to be underestimated or undervalued. I relied and leaned heavily on this definition while considering which current Detroit Red Wings’ players deserve the label of “underrated”. This list is purely my own opinion on the topic at hand, so I understand that it also may not be the most popular or unanimous opinion, but hey, that’s what the comment section is for.

Apr 21, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey (27) warms up prior to game three of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

#5: Kyle Quincey

You could almost hear the collective groan from Detroit fans when the Red Wings re-signed Kyle Quincey to a two-year deal during the summer of 2014. That summer Ken Holland and company had been pursuing big-name defensive free-agents like Matt Niskanen, Christian Ehroff and Dan Boyle, but in the end we all got two-more years of Kyle Quincey. After being rejected by all the “pretty girls” at the dance, the thought of having to settle on Kyle Quincey being one of the Red Wings’ big free-agency signings that summer was pretty deflating at the time.

Fast-forward one-year into the present day and maybe Quincey wasn’t really deserving of all the flack/hate he got on social media last summer. Personally, Kyle grew on me a lot last year. Maybe it was the beard?

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Either way, Quincey did his job and played his role well last season with the Red Wings. As a matter of fact, Mike Babcock even called the Quincey and DeKeyser pairing one the most reliable and best defensive duos on the team last season. Quincey might not put up big numbers as a blue-liner, but he a plays a fairly consistent stay-at-home/gritty style of defense.

In regards to the aforementioned defencemen (Boyle, Niskanen, Ehroff) that the Wings were pursuing in 2014, Quincey’s stats aren’t too far off from theirs. Kyle played in more regular-season games last season (73) than both Ehroff (49) and Boyle (65) and he also had more assists. Quincey also had the second-best regular-season plus/minus rating (+10) of the four defencemen.

Next: #4: A Goalie Fighting For His Job