Detroit Red Wings: Evaluating Jeff Blashill

One month into the 2015-16 season, the early results for the Detroit Red Wings have been underwhelming. The team started out on fire, winning their first three contests in impressive fashion. But since, they’ve only won two of eight to bring their current record to 4-5-1. Detroit currently sits sixth in the Atlantic Division, lower than what most people would have predicted. Aside from the standings, their play on the ice has at times been downright difficult to watch.

But how can this be? Sure Pavel Datsyuk has been out, but haven’t the other forwards picked up his slack? Henrik Zetterberg has been among the league leaders in scoring all season, Dylan Larkin has been outperforming summer expectations, and even Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, and Tomas Tatar have made positive contributions.

The top reason for Detroit’s poor start to the season has been play by the defensive unit, which to me points directly to head coach Jeff Blashill. Niklas Kronwall didn’t all of a sudden forget how to play defense. Same goes for Danny DeKeyser, who is supposed to be on the upswing of his career, not down. Kyle Quincey, Brendan Smith, and Jakub Kindl were all supposed to have their careers rejuvenated by Blashill, but so far it has been just the opposite.

Watching the Wings play, it is clear that their top issue has been successfully getting the puck out of their own zone. Losing battles along the boards, turnovers at the blue line, and stretch passes that miss their mark have all ailed this team so far. These things rarely would have happened under Mike Babcock’s watch.

Oct 10, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill looks on during the 2nd period against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes4-3. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Do you remember what Babcock preached? Every win was about controlling the puck and every loss was about turnovers, and statistically speaking puck possession has been the area where this team has seen the most significant drop-off.

Going back to when Babcock first stepped behind the bench for Detroit in the 2005-06 season, the Red Wings have always had a Corsi Even-Strength of above 50%, via War On Ice. This year that number is only 46.0%, and as of this writing they sit second to last in the league. The only team worse is Colorado, whose coach doesn’t seem too fond of controlling the puck either.

Across the board, numbers seem to be down from the Mike Babcock era: goal percentage, zone starts, and face-off percentage just to name a few. The only area the Red Wings seem to have improved? PDO, which sits at 101.5. That’s right…..the most notable improvement these Wings have made compared to years past is their ability to have luck go in their favor. Good luck trying to sustain that.

More from Octopus Thrower

• Detroit Red Wings forward Carter Mazur injured in Prospect Tournament
• Detroit Red Wings: What does Klim Kostin’s role look like in 2023-24?
• Detroit Red Wings: 3 players who will make biggest impact in first year
• The Detroit Red Wings need Andrew Copp to start fast in 2023-24
• Detroit Red Wings had a busy off-season; but was it enough?

To simplify, the 201-2016 Red Wings are spending much more time in their defensive zone as opposed to offensive, thus giving up more shots and therefore more goals. Losing Datsyuk for a month will hurt any team’s performance, but after this summer’s roster moves, this wasn’t supposed to be the worst Detroit team since the 2005 lockout. This team shouldn’t take that big of a step back because of just one player, not a team that was counting on so many young players to take a step forward.

Regardless of who they’re missing, it’s still the players on the ice who are under-performing. Controlling the puck and transitioning from defending to attacking has been the issue, but it’s not the players that have changed from the previous few years. It’s the coach.

Next: Is It Time To Worry About The Red Wings?

Perhaps we all underrated the value of Mike Babcock. Or overrated the fresh ideas of Jeff Blashill. Probably a combination of both. But if everyone claims that Blashill’s voice sounds just like that of his predecessor’s behind a microphone, Red Wing fans better hope he can start to duplicate that effect in the Detroit locker room as well.