The Detroit Red Wings made some changes this offseason and brought in some new faces. It has been an exciting summer for the team as they have gone out and picked up players that will ultimately help their team moving forward.
For the Detroit Red Wings, the big move of the off-season was a blockbuster trade that brought in forward Alex DeBrincat. He was acquired in a massive trade that brings in a huge influx of scoring for the Red Wings offense, which already took a jump from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
Now, as the 2023-24 season begins to creep up on the horizon line, there’s plenty to be excited about for a Red Wings fan. But one of the things to be excited about is that the team may be able to see things improve when it comes to their special teams.
For the Red Wings, this comes in the form of their powerplay units. Something that the team has tried to correct over the past few years. But the Red Wings have made a handful of moves over the past two seasons that have continued to improve things.
Detroit Red Wings are hoping a boost in offense benefits powerplay.
With the big move of the off-season being the trade for DeBrincat, the team has to be hoping that they will see some better production this season. They are coming off of a 2022-23 season where they boasted a 21.11% conversion rate on the powerplay, which is all over 0.2% under the league average.
While it may not sound like something to boast about, it’s much better than it had been in years past. Heck, in 2021-22, the Red Wings performed at a 16.30% conversion rate on the powerplay, being a whole 4.31% below the league average.
Bringing in players like David Perron brought a big improvement, helping bring some firepower. Perron just finds ways to make things happen, especially with a man advantage; he’s just an offensively gifted forward.
Adding in DeBrincat to the mix adds more firepower on top of that. He’s going to be someone who fills a role on the top powerplay unit, working alongside the team’s best offensive producers to help the Red Wings with a man advantage.
Pure speculation here, but DeBrincat’s addition could bring about a powerplay unit that looks like…
- Center: Dylan Larkin
- Net-front: David Perron
- Bumper: Lucas Raymond
- Point: Alex DeBrincat
- Defenseman: Moritz Seider
The Red Wings would still have plenty of firepower to add to a second unit that could be deadly as well. Here’s what the “leftovers” would allow for a second unit on the Red Wings powerplay.
- Center: JT Compher/Robby Fabbri
- Net-front: Michael Rasmussen/Elmer Söderblom
- Bumper: Jonatan Berggren
- Point: Daniel Sprong
- Defenseman: Shayne Gostisbehere
Certainly not a bad look for the team’s second unit. The Red Wings could rotate in centers and still have bigger-bodied forwards like Rasmussen or Söderblom to use as a net-front player. It’s early, and things could change as things get off the ground and running.
However, the Red Wings powerplay should be able to see some benefit from this boost in offensive weapons. But as the 2023-24 season inches closer, the Red Wings are hopeful that they can continue to see an improvement from their powerplay units as a whole, converting at a better rate.