The Detroit Red Wings have one of the more promising rosters in the NHL for 2024-25, and the playoffs will be a prerequisite for a successful campaign. But that promising lineup and group of forwards can only maximize their efficacy if they’re used properly, and ranking them should give us a good idea of what kind of role they should play this season.
Note that for these rankings, I’m only going off of the players projected to be on the big club via Hockey Reference since this is nothing more than a starting point, so you won’t find any top prospects listed below. Since there are only 12 forwards at the moment, general manager Steve Yzerman may very well bring in someone for depth later this summer, but it will all boil down to how much cap space he ends up with.
This means bringing back Daniel Sprong isn’t likely, but if Yzerman doesn’t acquire someone for depth, does he reach into his prospect pool? I’m interested to see how the next few months play out for the Red Wings, but at this point, with most free agents having found homes, let’s look at who they got and who ranks No. 1 among Detroit’s forwards.
12 - Joe Snively
Joe Snively should wind up as organizational depth if one of the Red Wings top prospects earns a spot in the lineup. Overall, he’s played 27 games in three seasons, all with the Washington Capitals, though he did give them seven points and four goals in 12 games in 2021-22, indicating he can get by with adequate play if needed.
11 - Tyler Motte
Look for Tyler Motte to continue logging fourth-line minutes for what will be his seventh NHL team. But the career journeyman has guaranteed a hard-hitting output regardless of who he suited up for in the past, so Red Wings fans should expect no differently in 2024-25.
10 - Christian Fischer
Christian Fischer should see exclusively fourth-line minutes, and you shouldn’t expect him to score often. But he’s in town primarily for defense and to give opposing would-be scorers headaches. One key quality I like about Fischer is that he logged an on-ice save percentage of 92.4 percent at even strength last season. An impressive feat, considering how turbulent the Red Wings were in the crease.