Detroit Red Wings: Who Will Benefit Most From Jeff Blashill?

The new head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Jeff Blashill, will undoubtedly be a familiar breath of fresh air for the team come the start of the 2015-2016 NHL season. Blashill’s familiarity with the Red Wings organization, their style of play, and most importantly, the players, will all be huge assists as he transitions into his new role as the head coach of one of the most legendary and most well-respected teams in the NHL.

So with coach Blashill already having an established relationship with the majority of the Wings’ core players, who will benefit the most from having Blashill take over as head coach of the team? Let’s take a look at some of the possible candidates.

Oct 25, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl (4) skates up ice against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Jakub Kindl

The most obvious and already publicized leading candidate to have a resurgence under Jeff Blashill would be defenceman Jakub Kindl. Kindl never really found much favor under former coach Mike Babcock due to his lack of “competitiveness” as Babcock put it. Sure, Kindl has made his fair share of defensive blunders over the last few seasons, but he also had some good rebound games after being scratched, most notably his two-goal performance against Dallas last February.

Speaking of being scratched, Jakub was a healthy scratch in 33 of Detroit’s final 41 games (including playoffs) last season. In total Kindl only played in 35 regular-season games for the Wings last season in which he tallied 5 goals, 8 assists and a +2 plus/minus rating. Not terrible stats for a defenceman by any means. Between the rental Marek Zidlicky and impressive young blue-liners like Xavier Ouellet and Alexey Marchenko, Kindl found himself the odd-man out in the Red Wings’ defensive lineup.

But Jeff Blashill still sees value and opportunity for the former first round draft pick who played a few games for Blashill and the Grand Rapids Griffins last season.

“When he came down to play with us I thought he did a great job. You can say it’s an NHL player coming down and playing, but you have to stand out and he stood out. He did a great job. He’s going back for pucks. He’s seeing through the forechecker, making the proper passes. I think for me that’s the No. 1 ingredient for defensemen to be great, their ability to break the puck out of their own end so you’re not playing in the D-zone and you’re playing in the other team’s end. That’s a formula for winning.”

Even with the praise of his new head coach, Kindl will still have to standout and make an impression during Detroit’s training camp next month if hopes to earn a spot on the roster. With the Red Wings signing Mike Green this off-season and with a steady stream of young prospects ready to make the jump into the NHL, Kindl’s time may be running out.

Mar 8, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Teemu Pulkkinen (56) during the third period of the Boston Bruins 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Teemu Pulkkinen

Jeff Blashill and Teemu Pulkkinen are no strangers to each other. Pulkkinen has already played in 159 regular and post-season games for Jeff Blashill during his time spent in Grand Rapids. Teemu is currently out of options this upcoming season to return to the AHL without first clearing waivers, so if he ever wanted to make a name for himself while impressing his former coach, now would be the perfect time.

Jeff Blashill is 100% aware of what he and the Red Wings have in a player like Teemu Pulkkinen. I’m sure that Blashill is also 100% aware of how many teams would love to steal the former AHL scoring champion if he were forced to clear waivers. I fully expect coach Blash to utilize his previous knowledge and experience of Teemu to put the talented young Fin into a role where he will be able to succeed. Perhaps Pulkkinen could have a break-out season with the Red Wings and score 15, 20, or possibly even more goals. Having a consistent and reliable goal scorer somewhere in the bottom-six would be potentially huge for the Red Wings.

If Teemu can hone in and sight his big slap-shot just a little bit more accurately, I see no reason for him to be forced to clear waivers. With his former coach keeping an eye on him while continuing to mentor him into an NHL player, I expect some possible exciting things to come from the young Pulkkinen.

Next: Anthony Mantha

Jun 30, 2013; Newark, NJ, USA; Anthony Mantha poses for a photo with team officials after being introduced as the number twenty overall pick to the Detroit Red Wings during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Mantha

One player who could benefit from Jeff Blashill is Anthony Mantha. Mantha may have already begun to benefit from Blashill. After the Red Wings’ senior vice president Jim Devellano called Mantha out for being “Very, very, very disappointing,” earlier this year, Jeff Blashill came to the defense of the former first-round pick.

“First of all, the expectation level on Anthony was too high, and in part that was his fault. When you have a career like that in juniors, the expectations are too high. I think Anthony still needs to learn to work as hard as you have to work, shift in and shift out, moving his feet, in order to utilize that skill set at the American league level and the NHL level.”

Mantha played in a total of 78 games for Blashill last year during his first season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. It’s safe to say that Blashill was able to get a good impression and sense of where Anthony is at as a young man beginning his career as a professional hockey player. I’m sure that Jeff will keep a close eye on Anthony Mantha as he continues to learn what it takes to make the jump from juniors into the professional hockey ranks.

I don’t expect Anthony Mantha to directly and/or immediately benefit from Blashill being the head coach of the Red Wings this season. Instead, I think that the time Mantha spent playing under Jeff in the AHL will help him further on down the road into future NHL seasons as Mantha prepares to take the next step in his professional career.

Next: Mike Green

Apr 5, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green (52) scores a goal in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Green

Sometimes a veteran player, or just a human being in general, can begin to feel under-utilized, under-appreciated, or just in need of a change in routine/scenery. Change can be a great catalyst in creating a spark of resurgence for a person/player, and I feel that Mike Green will definitely benefit from being signed to the Detroit Red Wings this season.

Now in Detroit and under the guidance of Jeff Blashill, I expect Green to embrace the leadership/bigger role that the Red Wings signed him to take on. It was apparent that Green wanted out of Washington and wasn’t going to be re-signed. With the Caps unwilling to trade him in the final year of his contract, it’s no surprise that he choose to have a fresh start in Hockeytown. It’s important to remember that like Jeff Blashill, Mike Green wanted to be in Detroit.

Blashill had nothing but positive and encouraging things to say about his newly acquired blue-liner.

“I went back and watched a bunch of his shifts, and he’s my kind of player in the sense that I like a defenseman who can move the puck. And as I said when we signed him, the best defense is getting back the puck and moving it out of your zone. And I think he does that very, very well.”

As long as Green continues to exhibit the type of positive skills that the Red Wings signed him for while working on aspects of his game that might not be as desirable, I expect the veteran defenceman to log a lot ice-time while finding a new spark and love for the game of hockey.

Next: Last But Not Least, The Fans