Detroit Red Wings: Adding a top scorer needs to be a priority this offseason
By Bob Heyrman
This seems to be the common summer theme regarding the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit must add a top-tier goal scorer over the offseason to complement captain Dylan Larkin and the current supporting cast.
Larkin, 26, lead the Detroit Red Wings with 32 goals and 79 points this past season, but the drop-off in offensive production following Larkin continues to be significant. Veteran winger David Perron, Detroit’s biggest offseason addition from a summer ago, was second in team scoring this past season, netting 24 goals and totaling 56 points.
Following Larkin and Perron, it was another newcomer Dominik Kubalik along with second-year winger Lucas Raymond recording 45 points. Kubalik scored 20 goals for Detroit, but his inconsistent play forced head coach Derek Lalonde to move him up and down the lineup all season long and even made him a healthy scratch for a brief period as the Red Wings were near full health ahead of the trade deadline.
The Detroit Red Wings have plenty of work to do this summer.
For years it seems the Detroit Red Wings have had a gaping hole in their lineup at the second-line center position. The need really stems back to when the tandem of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg ended with the organization. When you dissect Detroit’s lineup, they’ve got some pieces but haven’t been able to put the whole package together.
The Detroit Red Wings took a step in the right direction under first-year head coach Derek Lalonde who took over for Jeff Blashill as they finished the 2022-23 regular season with a near .500 record of 35-37-10.
If the Red Wings hope to continue to trend on an upward trajectory, Steve Yzerman needs to have a very productive summer.