Ranking the Red Wings forwards for the 2024-25 season from worst to first
The Red Wings didn’t add much to their forward group unless you count them bringing in Vladimir Tarasenko and re-signing Patrick Kane.
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.
9 - Joe Veleno
Quality minutes and more quality minutes will make up Joe Veleno’s physical, reliable game. He’s a jack-of-all-trades on this Red Wings team who can win roughly half of his faceoffs and put up double-digit goals, giving him sound value on what should be the team’s lower lines.
8 - Michael Rasmussen
Much like Joe Veleno, Michael Rasmussen is a reliable scorer for the average total amount of ice time he’s given - 15:11 last season. That may not be the case this season with more competition on the Red Wings. But it shouldn’t matter, as the depth forward should be reliable in landing body checks, blocking shots, and in the faceoff circle.
7 - Andrew Copp
Andrew Copp still isn’t the player he was in 2021-22, when he put up 21 goals and 53 points with the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers. That productivity fell even further last season when he finished the year with 33 points in 79 games, but he’s ultra-reliable in the faceoff circle, and he’s also unafraid to get in front of pucks when the Red Wings aren’t in possession.
6 - Vladimir Tarasenko
There’s nobody better equipped to help the Red Wings contend for a Stanley Cup than someone who recently won one this past season. Vladimir Tarasenko was a later addition in free agency, but a necessary one who should be a reliable points producer in the Motor City.
5 - J.T. Compher
Another recent Stanley Cup winner (Avalanche 2022) who has also since made his home in Detroit, J.T. Compher may not put up a ton of points, but he produces well enough. Add to the fact he brings at least a solid defensive game every time he steps out onto the ice, and there’s little argument to make as to why Compher shouldn’t snag a top-five spot on this list.
4 - Patrick Kane
This time last season, I would have said there was no way Patrick Kane would garner a top-four ranking on any NHL team, including if he returned to Chicago. Okay, maybe that’s a little much, but for months last year, I almost knew Kane was done. Then 47 points in 50 games happened, and that has since changed. While he’s not the player he was, Kane remains one of the NHL’s best wingers.
3 - Alex DeBrincat
Alex DeBrincat was quite the opposite of Kane, as for a minute there, he looked like the Red Wings best point-producer. While he regressed as 2023-24 wore on, a solid 67 points and 27 goals in 82 games was rather good, and I’m expecting at least a 70-point season this time around.
2 - Lucas Raymond
Lucas Raymond put up promising numbers in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but the 2023-24 season was his true breakout year. Raymond finished with 31 goals and 72 points, and fans will be looking for him to increase that output even more this season as he begins to enter his prime.
1 - Dylan Larkin
While Dylan Larkin didn’t lead the Red Wings in points last season, he still finished with over a point per game, and he would have paced the team if injuries didn’t get in the way. Right now, he’s the best forward they got and their most reliable goal-scorer, so staying healthy is of utmost importance if the Red Wings want to bust through the playoff barrier this season.
manual
(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference)