It’s been abysmal performance after abysmal performance for the Red Wings lately, albeit with a victory over the Boston Bruins this past Saturday night. But still, you can argue this is the worst they’ve been all season, and three points outside of the wild card or not as of Monday morning, it’s still a hopeless situation.
At least as far as the 2024-25 season goes. Why? Because when you look at the Red Wings from top to bottom, there’s something to notice and a striking positive. I mean yeah, okay, I get it, they can’t win when it matters the most, and letting the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators lap you is frustrating.
Still, there’s a positive in all of this. And that positive wouldn’t surprise me if it paid dividends now and in the future. What is that positive, you ask? Just check out how deep this core is at the NHL level.
Red Wings core alone should give fans more than enough reason to stay optimistic
No, the core isn’t making any miracles happen this season. But going down the list of Red Wings players, each with their own unique role means that if general manager Steve Yzerman keeps this group together, and he will, they will grow as a unit and from there, a winner will sprout.
This doesn’t mean Yzerman won’t add outside talent and maximize this team’s potential - he will. It will happen this summer, and this core will be a selling point. Because when you look at what they’ve accomplished outside of this rut, it’s shown that they’re a team that’s right on the verge of perennial playoff berths, but they’re just a few pieces short.
It reminds me of the Ottawa Senators, a team that I always felt would’ve been better if they just had a competent goaltender. Well, enter Linus Ullmark, and the team’s fortunes changed. The same concept applies to the Red Wings, but it won’t be aging players like Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko.
What does the Red Wings core look like and why is it so impressive?
If you’ve been following the Red Wings closely all season, you’ll know where I’m heading with this one. But if you haven’t, then let me give you a rundown. Oh, and for one, I was hoping to still have Joe Veleno on this list, but that’s no longer the case. Still, you can’t deny just how good this young core looks, regardless of how the rest of the season turns out:
- Jonatan Berggren, 24
- Alex DeBrincat, 27
- Albert Johansson, 24
- Marco Kasper, 20
- Dylan Larkin, 28
- Michael Rasmussen, 25
- Lucas Raymond, 22
- Moritz Seider, 23
- Elmer Soderblom, 23
- Carter Mazur, 22
- Sebastian Cossa, 22
Note, that I added Mazur and Cossa since both saw time in the NHL and should be surefire NHLers next season, with the latter moving up full-time at some point. But when you do the math, that’s 11 players who should be Red Wings in varying roles heading into the near and distant future.
It’s also a core that if I were a veteran player and took a long, hard look at, I’d want to be in Hockeytown, knowing I could be the missing piece. So, while this season is all but dusted, it doesn’t mean the future in Detroit is hopeless.