As the Detroit Red Wings continue to sign its remaining free agents, the organization heads into a season that should see the rebuild take the next step.
Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman has added pieces that should address some of the scoring issues the team has faced the past few seasons. Bringing in Nick Leddy puts an offensive minded defenseman who can help drive the attack at even strength and the man advantage.
Pius Suter is a new forward who could potentially reach the 20-goal plateau after having a promising season in Chicago. Jakub Vrana netted eight goals in his 11 games as a Red Wing and of all the names–seems the strongest lock to the 20-mark.
From there, those on the roster like Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Robby Fabbri seem like logical bets–if injuries don’t get the best of them.
Adam Erne–who led the team in scoring last season–might have a chance. And we can’t forget about Filip Zadina–who seems poised to breakout and finally start filling the net as he once promised.
Here’s a look at eight Red Wings who could have a chance at hitting 20 goals this season.
Jakub Vrana
Last Years Stats with Detroit and Washington (56 games) 19 goals & 17 assists for 36 points
Why Vrana will hit 20 goals: Simply put, he could have arguably had 30 if the season went its full 82 game slate. Eight of the 19 goals he scored were with the Red Wings, a team offensively challenged and absolutely besieged by injury last season. With a healthy team and some more scoring depth, Vrana should coast to 20 goals and challenge to get 30.
Why Vrana won’t hit 20 goals: From a statistical standpoint, it seems more unlikely that he won’t. In his previous seasons, Vrana scored 24 and 25 goals in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. The latter was in 69 games due to the season not completing because of Covid. Again, he was knocking on that door to 30. Outside of injury, Vrana to me is the biggest lock to get 20 goals.