Wanted: Detroit Red Wings for robbery (feat. Albert Johansson)
While the Detroit Red Wings have taken steps in the standings, it’s apparent that their prospects have suffered. None more so than Albert Johansson.
*Disclaimer: I love Steve Yzerman. I do not want Yzerman fired or in hot water, and no I don't think I could run the Detroit Red Wings better than him. However, I think it is fair to feel frustrated and express those frustrations in a healthy way.*
While creating my upcoming masterpiece of the assessment of Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, I stumbled across a rabbit hole.
It’s one I’m still falling in and I’m not sure how far it goes, but we’ll find out together.
Prior to 2022-23, there seemed to be a plan for the Detroit Red Wings going forward. Build through the draft, develop young players, and give them every opportunity to succeed.
Somewhere, somehow along the line, the Detroit Red Wings have abandoned this plan. Why? Seemingly for a shot at the playoffs.
I get it, I do. Playoffs are important. Winning the Stanley Cup is the only reason players play and fans watch. There is, however, a time and place for everything.
As the Detroit Red Wings chased a mirage, their prospects suffered.
If anyone, anywhere thought the Detroit Red Wings would be serious contenders for the playoffs in 2023-24, I’m not sure where your information was coming from–maybe it was a false hope. Happens to me all the time, but it doesn’t make the false hope plausible.
I miss playoff hockey. To be honest, I don’t even pay attention to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs as it makes me annoyed the Detroit Red Wings aren’t in it.
Mirage of playoff hockey
Realistically, the Detroit Red Wings shouldn’t have been in the conversation of the playoffs this season. Chasing it? Absolutely. At the cost of developing players? Absolutely not.
When the Detroit Red Wings, including Steve Yzerman, decided playoffs were more important than their prospects, the fate of the season was sealed.
Choosing to play “defensively responsible” players who provided no hope of development over players who had their fair share of flaws, but had room to adjust to the NHL and grow was a cowardly choice.
When Detroit Red Wings captain, Dylan Larkin, went down this season, it was a prime opportunity to try anything, something, someone, yet they folded quicker and harder than me when I have a bad hand of cards.
Instead of the possibilities of taking steps back to allow young players to develop, make mistakes, and learn from them during a trying period of time anyways, they chose to try to not lose. It didn’t work well, as they lost so many times.
The forward group had trouble, as did the defensive group. Although, Jonatan Berggren could very well be the poster child for this article, he’s not. At least he had more time in in the NHL this season. Was it fair? Was it helpful? Was it worth it? No. Not in any way shape or form, but at least he had that opportunity.
Simon Edvinsson had some time in the NHL, showing he belonged. Why was he stuck in the American Hockey League (AHL) so long to begin with? Who knows? Guess contracts and veteran players’ feelings were more important than winning games, but oh well. At least we had veterans in the lineup who helped in the most difficult times this season.
Even Marco Kasper had a regular season game. Granted, it was the previous season, but he at least had a game. He knows how truly fast it is playing on a broken kneecap against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Albert Johansson was robbed
I feel like it’s not unreasonable to request players get experience in the NHL prior to being required to play in it full time. Much like any job, there’s a necessary training period even at a call center. Why is a prospect expected to make the jump to the NHL full-time without any guard rails?
For context, before an injury sidelined Johansson in the 2022-23 season, Johansson played in 53 games. He earned 5 goals and 10 assists for a total of 15 points across these games. Depending on who you asked, it was a toss up between Johansson and Simon Edvinsson as to who was more NHL ready.
Of all the young defensemen I saw play in 2022-23, Johansson played the most mature, consistent game. Throughout most games, from the beginning of the season to his injury, Johansson played a reliable game.
Meaanwhile, Edvinsson started off a bit rougher, but he really found his game in North America mid December 2022. I think the slight nod would have gone to Johansson based on waiver status, the former Grand Rapids Griffins coaching staff, and the overall season if not for the injury.
The injury was more than inopportune. With a slew of veteran signings made by the Detroit Red Wings before the 2023-24 season, it seemed like few chances would arise to take a spot at any point in the campaign. Couple it with the fact that teams tend to call up the players who they know (ones who have played in the NHL previously unless they really messed up) and Edvinsson’s elevated play this season, Johansson seemed destined to remain in the AHL all season.
Unlike Edvinsson, Johansson hasn’t had an opportunity to play in the NHL outside of the preseason games he was afforded. Johansson was robbed of this opportunity.
Please keep in mind, the preseason games that Johansson played, he was paired with AHL-level defense partner(s) and sheltered, relatively low minutes. The Detroit Red Wings essentially combine the big and AHL clubs and play half of each roster every game.
Could Johansson have outplayed Edvinsson for the call ups at the end of the year? Maybe, and I suppose the survival of the fittest supports this theory, but there was opportunity to play Johansson a game or 2 for the betterment of the team and player.
Again, I get that the goal is always the playoffs, but now we find ourselves in a spot where Johansson should never have been.
What’s next for Johansson?
Johansson gets to go home and train in the offseason to prepare to play in the best league in the world. While a player can prepare all he wants for the NHL, until they actually play games in the NHL, there really isn’t a way to be prepared.
Shoot, it took 2.5 seasons for Lucas Raymond to fully “get” the NHL. Moritz Seider is still adjusting to the NHL. These players are 2 of the smartest, most abnormal players that the Detroit Red Wings have had in recent memory and they have struggled. They’ve had the opportunities to adequately prepare and still face struggles.
Now, Johansson is a very smart player. It’s his trademark both on and off the ice, a very intelligent individual. If anyone makes the jump to the NHL relatively smoothly my money is on Johansson.
He likely sees a few games on the second or third pair throughout the preseason, getting every opportunity to “prove his worth” to the team. When he shows that he belongs, it’s likely Johansson starts as a third pair defenseman.
My dream defensive partner for Johansson is Seider, but Johansson is likely 1-3 seasons from those types of minutes (he needs to gain more strength and improve his conditioning overall). His playmaking and defensive reliability should help Seider get more confidence, enabling his offensive side even more.
Ideally, in Johansson’s first season, I think Olli Määttä would be his initial partner. Both play an excellent 2-way game. Määttä is especially good in his own zone. At his best, Johansson is reading the opponents like a good book, knowing exactly where to be to kill their play before it begins. Once he gets the puck, he easily transitions the puck up the ice. He can make a decent outlet pass or carry the puck himself.
As he gains confidence, things should improve overall as well. Likely, there is untapped offensive potential that I hope Johansson and the Detroit Red Wings can nurture. Maybe that was the hope of leaving Johansson in the AHL all season.
In the long run, I think Johansson has the chops to take a spot out of camp next season and not look back and maybe that’s why the Detroit Red Wings are confident in him. Or maybe they, like many of us fans, expected many more injuries to the big club than occurred last season.
While the player himself will end up being fine, his situation represents a potential weakness in the Detroit Red Wings system. There are no shortcuts in chasing the Stanley Cup.
It is a long, tedious, and lucky process.
A prioritization should be placed on the young players as they’re the ones who will be the difference-makers for the Detroit Red Wings, which includes Johansson. Yes, they have to earn their spot, but it should be more balanced than it was this season.
The steps to get to the Cup should be in the forefront of everyone’s mind with the the grand prize just in our peripheral vision.
If we focus only on the goal of winning the Cup, we’re bound to trip and fall like a cartoon in a snowball rolling downhill.
June 11 1. The NHL salary cap will rise significantly adding to an already exciting offseason. dark. Next
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