Detroit Red Wings Todd McLellan needs to tinker these lines

With the Detroit Red Wings rebound under new head coach Todd McLellan, I am impressed. With all the improvements, though, I have a request to tinker with these particular lines to help get the most out of players. Here's who I would switch and why.

Toronto Maple Leafs v Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs v Detroit Red Wings | Mike Mulholland/GettyImages

The Detroit Red Wings under new head coach Todd McLellan is a night and day different. Under McLellan, I’m not focusing on their record. Although it’s remarkable, I prefer to focus on the team’s on-ice performance and seemingly increased confidence. 

The steps McLellan has taken with the Detroit Red Wings are nothing short of miraculous. If he’s not up for the Jack Adams Award(essentially, the best coach of the year), then I’m rioting. Not really, but he’s done a phenomenal job of building the Detroit Red Wings back up from the basement (shoot, maybe even the core of the Earth). They look and feel like a completely different team in a month. Even cooler, when McLellan is asked about the job he’s done, he always, always gives credit to the Detroit Red Wings players. It’s never about McLellan. 

I have very little that I can ask of McLellan. He’s improved the attitude of the group, the on-ice performance, their puck possession, and every stat imaginable. In doing so, he’s held every player accountable, been fair, and given everyone an opportunity to succeed. Players will always make mistakes; he knows that. He willingly shares that if a player doesn’t have their best game, then his staff will help the player through it. McLellan isn’t afraid to call players out on their poor performances, but as importantly he gives them an opportunity to show growth. 

It’s the biggest takeaway I have of McLellan versus the previous regime. Life isn’t so much about avoiding mistakes as it is about learning from them. If players are only told how bad they are or that they can’t make mistakes, all they’ll do is dwell on the bad things. It’s the laws of life, what we are scared of happening the most or tried to avoid inevitably happens. When the Detroit Red Wings players had the weight lifted off of their shoulders and were free to just play hockey, they made magic together. The exciting part, there’s still room to grow.

Tinkering with the Detroit Red Wings lineup ever so slightly will help the Detroit Red Wings succeed even more

Since joining the Detroit Red Wings, McLellan has nicely balanced the need for consistent lineups with the demand for change when things get stale. 

Without losing too much chemistry on any given line, defensive pair, or goaltending pair, McLellan has constructed his lineup meticulously. He’s confirmed that he likes pairs among the forward groups. Citing Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin as a pair, then Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane as another pair within the forward group. He put Andrew Copp between DeBrincat and Kane, who perform better than not most nights together. Since Kane has been out with injury, Vladimir Tarasenko has earned a look with Copp and DeBrincat. Although the line isn’t as potent, it’s not too shabby, either.

On line one, there’s been a bit of a trial of different players. First was Joseph Veleno, whose speed kept him on the line for an extended look. Veleno was known for his scoring in juniors but kind of lost that scoring touch in the professional league (not uncommon for players as they try to grab a regular job in the National Hockey League (NHL)). It was a hope that Veleno would regain some of that form, but things didn’t quite go to plan.

When Veleno was swapped in the lineup for Marco Kasper, I appreciated how McLellan framed it. The change wasn’t a result of Veleno’s play on the top line and was more of a hope to get the bottom six going, as it had no real identity or purpose. 

Kasper, on the other hand, is a big body who can do the heavy lifting for Raymond and Larkin. Yet, Kasper has shown his offensive flair that Grand Rapids Griffins and Rögle BK fans know all too well. 

It seems that most fans put Kasper in a box. He’s a lesser offensive version of Nate Danielson, another well-respected prospect in the Detroit Red Wings system (and rightfully so). In doing this, I think some Detroit Red Wings fans were a bit short-sighted. It’s easier to put labels on prospects or put them in boxes to assess their play, but it doesn’t do the prospect justice. Each one is unique and should be viewed as such.

After watching Kasper with the Grand Rapids Griffins last season, it was incredible to watch him grow. At first, he was somebody who fell into the background of Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren, Sebastian Cossa, and even Albert Johansson. By midseason, however, Kasper grabbed hold of the spotlight with his consistent, effective play. In the playoffs, he was far and away the best player on the ice (both Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson and I agree). 

Carrying his stellar play into this season, Kasper should have made the Detroit Red Wings out of training camp. An overabundance of signings left him as the odd man out. Only a few days later, though, the Detroit Red Wings recalled Kasper and he’s been with the team ever since. 

His trajectory has followed a similar path (albeit at an expedited rate) as opposed to last season. Kasper started all right and earned some looks as the second-line center, but it’s a tall ask even for a player of Kasper’s caliber. It also speaks to the little confidence the previous coaching staff has in their veteran forwards. 

As McLellan came in, his staff likely wanted to assess the veterans (or older players). They seemed to take precedence, which is understandable. Their history in the league should be respected and they should be allowed to show their stuff first, then if they’re not quite right the young players could take a shot at the role.

Since being bumped up to the first line, Kasper hasn’t looked out of place at all. Much like his time with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Kasper is always in the mix of scrums. He doesn’t lose his head, keeping his emotions at bay—something I think Larkin could learn from Kasper. On the flip side, Larkin has taken Kasper under his wing. It makes sense; the two have a very similar style of playing. Kasper is a bit more aggressive physically, I’d say, and Larkin has a bit more speed. Neither player has the elite skills to knock anybody’s socks off (shot or playmaking)-wise, but their determination makes their lack of supposed skill. Add a player dripping in elite skill as Raymond, who is just as determined to win, and there’s a formidable combination.

The top and second lines are about as *chef’s kiss* as we could hope for, maybe one could argue the second line could use a change but I digress. 

The only tinkering that I would make is to the third and fourth lines. Prior to Kane coming back from injury, I think now is a perfect opportunity to look at Elmer Söderblom in a bigger role. He’s currently on the fourth line with Michael Rasmussen and Christian Fischer. Meanwhile, the third line has Veleno, J.T. Compher, and Jonatan Berggren. While these lines have looked okay, I would love to see Berggren and Söderblom reconnect. (My original preference was putting Söderblom back with Raymond, as those two are my favorite pairing to watch, but Kasper looks too darn good on that line to come off of it.)

Swapping Veleno and Söderblom would be my ideal scenario. The fourth line wouldn’t lose too much physicality, and Berggren would get a little more time/space on the ice with Söderblom on his line. Whether intentionally or not, Söderblom has a magnetism to him. I guess opponents want to try to take on the biggest guy, then realize he’s a wall and regret their life decisions that led them to that moment. 

It’s been a wild ride seeing Söderblom come into his own. He went from a huge surprise to making the Detroit Red Wings to falling out of favor with the Detroit Red Wings and fans alike. Yet, through the entire experience, Söderblom has remained patient, calm, and an incredibly kind person. Always willing to help on a podcast, autograph signing, or doing an interview, Söderblom hasn’t shied away from things, even though he had every right to be sour about things. However, Söderblom is a stand-up guy (literally and figuratively).

Watching him go through his development from “I don’t know if he’s going to make it” to “why the heck haven’t the Detroit Red Wings recalled him by now?” has been fun, to say the least. Söderblom looks like a completely new player this season. He’s not playing out of fear that he might injure someone and embracing the characteristics that make him a great player. His surprising skills (wicked shot, playmaking skills, and incredible puck protection) mixed with his size are a sight to behold. Now, he’s not afraid to hit a guy, stand up to them, reverse hit them, or protect his teammate. 

It’s wild seeing a player being able to use one hand on an opponent and see that opponent (a full-sized, grown man) go flying. One of the most entertaining things I’ve seen in hockey is Söderblom doing so.



Once Kane r, they will surely have a dilemma on their hands and likely Tarasenko will drop back to line three, then Söderblom might be bumped down to line four again, but while we have the chance, I’d love to see what Berggren and Söderblom can do together. 

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