Tyler Bertuzzi
Last Year’s Stats (9 games) – 5 Goals & 2 assists for 7 points
Why Bertuzzi will hit 20 goals – He’s been one of the most consistent forwards on the team and would likely have scored 20 if not for the back injury that limited him to just nine games. As Detroit was going through its brutal stretch of COVID protocol, Bertuzzi was one of the few actually finding the back of the net. In previous seasons, he had 21 goals in consecutive seasons. Along with Vrana and Larkin, I feel like he’s another lock to score 20 if he stays healthy. Beyond that, this will be one of the best offensive teams he’ll be a part of, with some more depth both 5on5 and at the man advantage.
Why Bertuzzi will not score 20 – Injury. There are obviously always unknowns and even head coach Jeff Blashill has urged caution along with optimism in Bertuzzi coming back on time. Other than injury, there really isn’t an argument as to why he won’t hit 20.
Dylan Larkin
Last Year’s Stats ( 44 games) – 9 Goals & 14 assists for 23 points
Why Larkin will hit 20 goals – Like Bertuzzi, Larkin has been the Red Wings most consistent scoring forward. He scored 32 goals in 2018-19, and would have 20 (he had 19) during the God awful 2019-20 season had it not been shut down by Covid. Larkin found himself handcuffed last season by a team decimated by injury, and also missed a handful of games with injuries of his own. If he’s healthy, and if the team stays healthy(ish), expect Larkin to notch 20 goals easily and flirt with 30.
Why Larkin will not score 20 – Injury. Blashill preached caution with his recovery in case things don’t go according to plan after his brutal neck injury last year–courtesy of Jamie Benn. There’s one other part, too, though I’m sure film study has revealed this at some point. Larkin’s patented move is blowing around the defense, curling around the net and then either finding a teammate with a pass or shooting. Last season, teams caught on and essentially valved off the low slot, which forced bad passes from Larkin or weaker shots that were gobbled up by the netminder.
It often felt like Larkin tried to carry the team each night–which unfortunately makes sense when they struggled to score. With some more scoring threats on the roster, this should hopefully not be the case.