Detroit Red Wings: Andreas Athanasiou will flourish as an NHL center

At the moment Andreas Athanasiou is playing on the wing with Glendening as his center. I think he would fare better if he were playing as a center, and the Detroit Red Wings should explore that idea again.

When the season started Andreas Athanasiou started as the Detroit Red Wings third line center. He was playing with Michael Rasmussen and Thomas Vanek. Since then Andreas has seen his name scribbled into the lineup card on a wing.

Sometimes he’s on the second line with Frans Nielsen as his center. He had a massive point outburst on that second line with Gustav Nyquist on the opposite wing. As a member of that line, Anthanasiou went on a 14 game tear; He recorded 14 points in 14 games. It had been hit and miss since the line needed to split up once Anthony Mantha was injured and Nyquist was required to be elevated to the top line to replace the big power forward.

He’s spent a minimal amount of time on Larkin’s wing, but if the team is unwilling to trust AA down the middle, I wish they would experiment with that once again. I think he could thrive with Nyquist and Larkin on the top line.

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Currently, Athanasiou is scorching hot once again. Over his last five games, he’s recorded 5 goals and 6 points. He is the definition of a streaky scorer. Prior to getting hot of late, he had a terrible cold spell going 11 straight without being able to score.

I think moving him back to the center’s position would allow him the space necessary to spread his offensive wings. He’s a thoroughbred that just wants to run, well skate in this case. He would benefit from the extra open ice that playing down the middle provides.

The ideal Jeff Blashill center is one that is extremely reliable in his own zone. It is basically the same philosophy that Mike Babcock instilled into his players. Think of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula, Darren Helm, Kris Draper and of course Steve Yzerman.

These players all played for Babcock in Detroit. Some are much better all-around players than others, yet they all have one thing in common. They are all reliable defensively. Look at the four centers playing in Detroit at the moment.

Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Luke Glendening, and Jacob de La Rose. The latter two bring little to no offense to the table, whereas the top two have a proven track record in the scoring department. One thing these players all have in common once again is their defensive abilities.

Before you get to mad about Nielsen being the teams’ second line center, understand one thing, the Detroit Red Wings have limited options. I would love to see Jeff Blashill try and plug Athanasiou back in as a center.

Athanasiou isn’t exactly the most reliable player on the defensive side of things. I would plug him into the “2” spot in the lineup and see how he responds. It would be nice to see a line something like this come out after the Larkin line has finished their shift.

I like the idea of this being our second line Vanek – Athanasiou – Mantha. The line would provide size and scoring ability with Mantha. The blazing speed of Athanasiou and the veteran leadership of Thomas Vanek.

I think the days of Vanek being a second line forward are long over, BUT in this case, it would allow a young player like Michael Rasmussen play on the wing alongside Frans Nielsen and learn what it is like to become more of a complete player.

Frans Nielsen is better suited as a third line center as he struggles to put together a 50 point season. I think if he were moved to the third line and flanked by Glendening and Rasmussen the trio would be tough to play against and they would still provide some scoring ability.

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This would only work if Jeff Blashill would be willing to try other combinations and he needs to learn to trust Athanasiou down the middle of the lineup. Larkin and AA would be a nice 1-2 punch down the middle of the lineup for the Detroit Red Wings moving forward. On the season he’s notched 17 goals, 10 assists totaling 27 points in 39 games.

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