It may be early for the Detroit Red Wings faithful to start thinking about how things will shake out for their 2023-24 roster, but fans need to remember that they will get a healthy Michael Rasmussen back.
The Detroit Red Wings may not be too fixated on what their lineup and forward core will look like moving down the line, but it’s going to be nice to see what this team shapes up like with Rasmussen back.
After all, some folks may have “forgotten” about him since his season came to an end early due to a knee injury after blocking a shot that squared up his kneecap. He ended up having to miss the rest of the season, which was a rough go.
It was a tough blow to the lineup for the Red Wings, but he’s going to jump back in and try to be a big part of what the team does in 2023-24. While an offseason full of moves could vastly change the team’s landscape, Rasmussen is in an excellent position to come back and do damage.
A healthy Michael Rasmussen is huge for the Detroit Red Wings.
In 2022-23, Michael Rasmussen started to find his game and emerge from the level he had previously been at. Rasmussen played in 56 games for the Red Wings this season, where he scored ten goals and added 19 assists for 29 total points.
It’s far fewer games than the 80 that he played in 2021-22, but he was still able to eclipse his best season point totals before his season was cut short. It sucks that the Red Wings were without Rasmussen, but the time that he was healthy was impressive.
He settled in nicely, finding his game and being able to be a productive member of the Red Wings’ bottom six on both ends of the ice. Whether it was expanding his spot in the net-front presence abilities and being able to be serviceable in the defensive zone, it was good to see him finding his way.
As the Red Wings move forward, they should be able to pencil him in as their third-line center, who might tap into some more offense than some were expecting. It’s really been impressive to see the Red Wings forward settle into his own.
Looking ahead to the other side of the summer, it will be great to see Rasmussen back on the ice, looking to perform similarly to how he did in 2022-23. I like his odds of becoming a key piece of the Red Wings’ plan moving forward, even if it’s a bottom-six role.