3 players who were the Red Wings biggest surprises this season
The Detroit Red Wings may or may not be extending their season, but it doesn’t mean they had plenty of pleasant surprises in 2023-24.
A few notable players on this upstart Detroit Red Wings team gave us plenty of awesome surprises. No, their better record and points total shouldn’t have come as a major surprise, given the number of years the organization has been under the famed “Yzerplan,” but when they come so close, only to potentially miss out on the playoffs if things don’t go their way, it still stings.
While their late-season collapse that put their playoff hopes in jeopardy was one of the uglier surprises of the 2023-24 campaign, the pleasant surprises were plentiful. One major surprise came in the form of J.T. Compher, who played his entire career with the Colorado Avalanche before he came to the Eastern Conference to show that he was capable of putting up ample points following a 52-point outing with the Avs.
Before 2022-23, Compher never accumulated over 33 points in a season. And there are countless examples of NHL players enjoying outstanding campaigns before they revert to their former selves, and that could have easily been the case with Compher.
Several Red Wings players enjoyed surprising seasons
As of the final week of the 2023-24 season, Compher has found the back of the net 17 times with 46 points and is just one goal away from tying his career-high. He likely won’t reach 52 points again since the regular season is about to enter the history books, but he’s also averaging 0.613 points per game, ultra close to the 0.634 he averaged last season.
Compher’s numbers may be surprising once again, but those listed in the following three slides enjoyed even more unprecedented outings. This isn’t taking away from anything Compher accomplished during his first year in the Motor City, even if he probably won’t finish in the top 13 for the Selke for the second year running.
But when you see which players landed on the following slides, you will know why they are the Red Wings three biggest surprises of the 2023-24 season.
Patrick Kane returning from hip resurfacing was significant
Patrick Kane wasn’t just one of the most surprising players on the Detroit Red Wings this season; you can make an honest case that he was one of the biggest surprises in the NHL. His hip resurfacing procedure aside, Kane was also coming off of a year when he recorded just 57 points and 21 goals, putting him well under the point-per-game milestone.
This season, it’s been 46 points and 20 goals in just 48 games, and it’s fair to wonder if Kane, should he have played for an entire season, hit the 82-point mark, or at least close to it. Judging from the numbers listed above, it’s safe to say that, adjusting those stats to a full season, Kane would have likely scored between 34 and 35 goals and between 78 and 79 points.
Kane was one of a few players I previously listed who deserves to return, but just because he should stay in town, it doesn’t mean he will. Yet, at 35, it’s not surprising that he will consider all options before deciding to sign another deal in the Motor City. He’s turned many skeptics into believers, so it’s become clear that there will be no shortage of bidders seeking to recruit him in 2024-25.
Daniel Sprong proved his strong 2022-23 season was no fluke
Daniel Sprong spent 66 games in the Pacific Northwest last season playing for the Seattle Kraken, and he finished the year hitting the 20-plus goal mark for the first time. To be more accurate, he scored 21 times with the Kraken and he contributed to another 25 goals, good for 46 points. What made 2022-23 even more impressive for Sprong is that he reached those numbers playing fourth-line minutes, averaging just 11:25 of ice time per game.
Few probably saw Sprong repeating his success from last season in Detroit, but through 74 games, his shots found the net 17 times, and he’s been once again a major contributor, with 41 total points. At the time of this writing, his 41 points tied for eighth on the team alongside Moritz Seider, and he was also tied for sixth in goals scored with J.T. Compher.
While we don’t know if Sprong will continue his career in Detroit, he’s definitely made a case to extend his stay in a Red Wings uniform next season and perhaps beyond. Detroit has been a high-scoring team throughout the 2023-24 season for the most part, and Sprong has played a major role in helping them maintain a top 10 position in goals scored.
Alex Lyon stabilized a weak goaltending unit
When you’re a 31-year-old journeyman, your NHL future is often relegated to backup duty or, in a worst-case scenario, the AHL. But that hasn’t been the case with Alex Lyon, who saw more playing time this season than he had in any of his previous combined.
Before 2023-24 took off, Lyon had exactly 39 games of NHL experience with 31 starts and a 16-11-5 record. His statistics weren’t bad, with a 0.903 save percentage, a 3.05 GAA, a shutout, and a 0.516 quality starts percentage. Backup numbers that, when you look at them, you may feel that Lyon would have done nothing more than record between 10 and 15 starts this season.
Nobody would have seen 43 games and 42 starts through the team’s first 80 games. He’s won 20 of those starts, and at least helped the Red Wings attain those ever important bonus points with five overtime losses. Best yet, he’s posted slightly better numbers, with a 0.906 save percentage, a 3.03 GAA, a shutout, and a quality starts percentage of 0.524.
He’s allowed seven goals above expected at even strength, and posted a solid 0.913 save percentage in the same situation. It’s also worth pointing out that the Red Wings never fared well defensively this season, making Lyon’s 2023-24 outing even more incredible.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)