Sports are littered with teams seemingly one step away from making a leap forward who just…don’t. The Detroit Red Wings are starting to look like the latest in that long line.
Why hasn't that manifested yet?
This team needs better core players
Detroit still sits just two points out of the playoffs with nine games left, giving them plenty of time to turn this year’s ship around. At this point, however, it doesn’t really matter to me how the rest of this season plays out. We’ve seen this roster with Larkin and company at the center fall short in these exact same situations three years in a row.
A wild card berth followed by what would likely be a short playoff appearance is a building block, to be sure, but here are the things that this roster has lacked to support this group and what they’ve done to address them:
- Lack of depth from 2021-22 season: Added five new players via free agency and trading for a goalie.
- Lack of experience on bench: Hired Todd McLellan, who has made numerous playoff appearances at three different NHL stops.
- Lack of consistent goaltending: Traded for John Gibson.
- Lack of a stable top-four defenseman: Traded for Justin Faulk.
Yzerman added plenty of players to the roster. McLellan brought credibility to the bench. Gibson has been exactly what they wanted and so has Faulk. At some point, the excuses run out. We can nitpick some of the decisions, but I don’t think you can argue that they haven’t put forth legitimate attempts to buoy this core to another level that they just don’t appear capable of taking on their own.
Lack of identity dooming Red Wings
No matter how this year plays out, the facts are bearing down that this core is missing something. After years of trying to window dress around this group, it’s plainly obvious that Detroit needs players who are as good, if not better, than their current best players. If Yzerman doesn’t seriously address that via pushing in hard to acquire someone like Robert Thomas, next season will be far more likely to result in a tear down than that long awaited step forward.
As it stands, this core’s ceiling is that of a fringe playoff team. One that, yes, with some better luck down the stretch can scratch out a few wild card or third-place divisional seed playoff berths and be dispatched in a week.
Prospect pool not strong enough
None of the prospects in the team’s deep system knocking on the door are projected to be serious difference makers outside of the possible goaltending tandem of Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine. The only NHL caliber center prospect is Nate Danielson, whose impact is uncertain. Marco Kasper's regression this season leaves plenty of questions about his viability as a second-line center. Dylan Larkin, the team's only top-six center, turns 30 after this season.
Detroit's plethora of admittedly strong winger prospects generally have the upside of decent second-line scoring wingers who play physical, and that has value, but not as a needle mover. Axel Sandin Pellikka, whose defensive play has him down in Grand Rapids, is generally regarded as the team’s only offensively capable defense prospect. Beyond that, however, the prospect pool leaves a lot to be desired.
The team needs a genuine top line, or at least second line, center and they need it today. Not in maybe 2-3 years when Larkin is nearing the end of his contract and well into his 30s. Today.
Sports are littered with the "Next Big thing teams that end up as failures to launch. If Yzerman doesn’t make a big move this summer, the Detroit Red Wings will be another one of them.