Michael Rasmussen
Last Year’s Stats (40 games) – 3 Goals & 9 assists for 12 points
Why Rasmussen will hit 20 goals – If anyone is likely to pull an Adam Erne impression when it comes to goal scoring, it’s Rasmussen. The ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft, Rasmussen finally got to stick with the big club after injuries opened spots and he was stellar in Grand Rapids during his seven games there. He looked stronger on the puck last season and seemed more comfortable than he ever did in Detroit. Rasmussen has always been projected to get the lionshare of goals in front of the net on the power play–which is how he’ll have a shot at 20 goals.
Why Rasmussen will not score 20 – Even in Grand Rapids, Rasmussen never really screamed goal scorer. He had a weird arrival to the NHL–staying with Detroit as a result of not wanting to send him back to Juniors when he was clearly ready for a professional league. It wasn’t until he spent time in the AHL that he looked to grow more comfortable. Of the other players mentioned, Rasmussen seems like the least likely to hit 20 this season–but if he sees a strong season in 2021-22, it could be a possibility later on.
Final Predictions
Of the names mentioned here, it feels like if all goes well without injury eating up significant playing time, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Vrana and Suter seem like the safest bets to hit 20 goals. Zadina and Fabbri seem like fringe 20 goal scorers while Erne and Rasmussen seem most likely to fall short of the 20 goal mark. It’s a crapshoot to even predict, but this feels like the first time in a long while Detroit could have multiple players score twenty or more goals.
In fact, four players had 20 or more in 2018-19 in Larkin, Bertuzzi, Anthony Mantha, and Andreas Athanasiou. Prior to that, you have to go to 2014-15 when Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader hit the 20 mark.
Could this be the first time in a long while multiple Wings hit 20? We’ll see soon.