Detroit Red Wings: 3 players who will make biggest impact in first year
Blockbuster addition to the Detroit Red Wings, Alex DeBrincat.
Surely, it’s a slam dunk to include Alex DeBrincat, but the Detroit Red Wings made one of the biggest trades of the off-season, if not the biggest, in their deal with Ottawa. After bringing in DeBrincat to join the Red Wings, their offense got a nice boost in performance.
It may not be as much of a slam dunk for DeBrincat to jump in and be amazing. He will pack a punch and be really exciting this season, but there’s at least something worth mentioning. While he is the biggest off-season addition, he’s heading into uncharted territory in Detroit.
DeBrincat has always played second-fiddle to superstars or just a few players who maintain the spotlight. Dylan Larkin and him should complement each other well, but both seem as if they would thrive in that secondary spotlight.
So, it will be interesting to see how the two navigate things this season. Hopefully, it’s a good tandem where both can provide a ton to the Red Wings’ offense in 2023-24. DeBrincat will surely be one of the most impactful players on the Red Wings; seeing how well he can perform in year one with Detroit will be interesting.
He’s coming off of the 2022-23 season, where he played in 82 games for the Senators, scoring 27 goals and adding 39 assists for 66 total points. He has a track record of scoring and being a real offensive threat. Detroit is hoping for more of the same from the Michigan native.
DeBrincat has scored 40+ goals twice in his career. Marián Hossa, from the 2008-09 season, was the last player to reach the 40-goal threshold in Detroit. It’s been quite a while, and it would be interesting to see DeBrincat come out and find that type of success, but it would be an excellent start for him in Detroit as the most significant off-season addition from this summer.
Detroit Red Wings are going to utilize Shayne Gostisbehere well.
The Detroit Red Wings went out and added some depth to the defense core. This came in the form of a few different players. However, one of the more exciting names brought in was Shayne Gostisbehere.
While the Detroit Red Wings gave Gostisbehere a one-year deal, he’s in a position to prove himself. He’s in a spot where he needs a big performance; it helps himself just as much as it would help the Red Wings organization.
A big year out of Gostisbehere would be beneficial to contract negotiations next summer, earning an extension if Yzerman sees fit or even driving up trade value if the Red Wings opt to sell. He’s proven he can be a veteran defender who brings a scoring punch from the blueline.
Gostisbehere has been in the league for the last nine years, and the 30-year-old has done an excellent job being an offensive addition wherever he plays. He was picked up by the Carolina Hurricanes last season as they hoped to make a cup run.
The Red Wings will utilize Gostisbehere in a way that will promote his offensive traits. It’s purely a hunch, but I’d expect Gostisbehere to play a role in the team’s second power-play unit and also see some offensive zone deployments, looking to make things happen with his play-making style.
If he can prove himself on the Red Wings backend, he could easily be one of the most impactful additions from this off-season, especially if Gostisbehere can prove to be an asset on the power play.
Detroit Red Wings can deploy Daniel Sprong in beneficial situations.
There may be a hitch to this one, but the Detroit Red Wings have the potential to use Daniel Sprong effectively and capitalize in 2023-24. The Red Wings signed him to a one-year deal after a very productive tenure in Seattle, where the Kraken figured out the best ways to use him and found an efficient level of production from the winger.
The holdup comes with the off-ice drama. There was an incident involving Sprong, who was reported to have assaulted a former IndyCar driver. There has not been much new information released, nor has Sprong or the Red Wings addressed the situation publicly.
So that remains a question mark as the Red Wings return to the ice. But as of now, nothing seems to be reported regarding Sprong being absent from training camp and the Red Wings roster. There’s a big season ahead for Sprong if he can settle in as a producer in the Red Wings offense once again.
Sprong makes his money in the offensive zone with some serious gaps in his game defensively. However, if the Red Wings can blend him into the offensive zone and maximize his opportunities on the offensive half of the ice, good things should happen for him.
In 2022-23, Sprong played in 66 games with 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 total points with the Kraken. They cracked the code on utilizing Sprong and reaped the benefits, even on less ice time than he had seen in prior years.
If Sprong can join the Red Wings and provide a similar output as he did in Seattle last season, he could be a real asset for Detroit. The Red Wings should learn from Seattle and ensure that they similarly use Sprong.
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