The inability to rebuild defense core has been Red Wings' Achilles heel

Detroit Red Wings fans are beginning to sour on the season just 11 games into the 2024-25 regular season. While I understand the frustration, I try to maintain a clear head and understand that they are still trying to find their stride. Again, we're 11 games in, and I know you are saying to yourself that they should have found it by now; you're not wrong. It's just clear they haven't been nearly as crisp as they need to be at this point in the year.

The players are still trying to build continuity with each other, particularly on special teams. Newcomers Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Motte each missed some time early on. Tarasenko had a flu bug, and Motte had a minor injury.

Jonatan Berggren has become a regular in Detroit's lineup this season, along with Marco Kasper of late. The pair know one another well, playing together last season in Grand Rapids, and while that third unit, which also consists of Tarasenko of late, hasn't exactly lit up the scoresheet. Berggren has just one assist in 11 games. Kasper has recorded one assist in seven games, and Tarasenko has notched two goals and one assist in ten contests.

So, with that third group struggling, you'd hope the fourth unit is chipping in to help carry the depth scoring, but that hasn't been the case. Detroit's fourth line of late consists of Michael Rasmussen, Joe Veleno, and Christian Fischer. Rasmussen has two goals and three points over 11 games. Fischer has one goal and two points in ten games. Veleno has one assist in 11 games. That fourth unit has struggled to create any offense and is usually found chasing hemmed in their defensive zone. When they are fortunate enough to find themselves in the offensive zone, their only real scoring option from any distance is Veleno, and he's clearly not finding twine thus far. Rasmussen and Fischer are what I call mudders; they go to the dirty areas in front of the net and jam away. Both win their fair share of board battles, but again, they rarely find themselves in the offensive zone, creating any sustained pressure. When they are pressing for offense in the offensive zone, it's one of those one-and-done scoring chance situations. It seems this group really misses the likes of Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong, who each recorded 18 goals last season, making the most of their limited minutes.

So, I've addressed some of the issues up front for the Red Wings, but the backend is worse.

Yzerman's inability to rebuild Detroit's backend is hampering the rebuild.

While Detroit's depth scoring hasn't helped out the top-six nearly enough, Detroit's real problem seems to stem from general manager Steve Yzerman's inability to rebuild the Red Wings defense core.

This past off-season, Yzerman signed top defender Moritz Seider to a lucrative seven-year contract extension that averages $8.55 million annually. Locking up a franchise-like defender who has yet to reach his full potential was inevitable, considering he had been a restricted free agent. Still, this deal has the makings of being of a team-friendly manner in the coming years for a variety of reasons. Seider, a Yzerman draft pick (6th overall), will only improve, plus the salary cap is expected to continue to increase in the coming years.

Another bright spot is rookie Simon Edvinsson. It didn't take head coach Derek Lalonde long to realize that Edvinsson another Yzerman draft selection (sixth overall) is Detroit's top option on the left side and swiftly paired the towering left-handed defender with Seider.

After that, things get really dicey for the Red Wings. The second pairing of Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry is letting the team down more often than a second pairing should. I am not going to sit here and bang the desk and say Chiarot is a top defender, but he's good enough to be on this roster. At this point, he should be a third-pairing defender who can slide up and down as needed throughout the year. Petry though. Woof. I can't even defend his play. Petry should be in the press box as the seventh defender in favor of Justin Holl more often than not. Holl has been serviceable during his limited action this season, so why not play him for the time being?

Detroit's third pairing has been a revolving door that's consisted of Olli Maatta, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, and Albert Johansson. Recently, the Red Wings traded their steadiest defensive defender from their bottom four in Maatta to Utah for a third-round pick in 2025. Maatta, a pending free agent, was moved because, unlike Petry or Holl, they didn't have a modified no-trade clause attached to their current contract. Plus, don't forget, if we're so eager to get rid of someone due to performance purposes, you need to find a buyer. Easier said than done. In layman's terms, Maatta was the easiest to move. Hopefully, trading Maatta will clear the way for Johansson to become a regular; he's played in three straight games.

After all of this, I can't help but reevaluate two specific recent transactions/decisions. This past summer, Yzerman shipped Jake Walman to San Jose and attached a second-round pick to do so. Walman wasn't perfect, but you can clearly sense his play is missed this season. Walman played a ton of minutes paired with Seider, and while I like Detroit's current top unit, it's undeniable that Walman would vastly improve Detroit's current bottom four. The other decision that remains a head-scratcher is the decision to move on from Shayne Gostisbehere in favor of Gustafsson. Gustafsson is considered a more well-rounded defender during five-on-five play, but Gostisbehere finished fourth on the Red Wings last season with 56 points, 29 of which came on the power play.

I'd love to tell you brighter days are ahead, but this will continue to be a work in progress. The top defender to look forward to is right-hander Axel Sandin Pellikka, and we might see him as soon as next season.