After two decades of dominance, the Detroit Red Wings absolutely hit a wall last season. Salary cap concerns and poor performances from players that failed to live up to expectations resulted in Detroit finishing with one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference. The bad news is that the Red Wings didn’t solve any of their concerns in the offseason, which leaves them projected to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic division for the second year in a row. With a focus on the future, it will be interesting to see what happens with Detroit in 2017-18.
How They Finished Last Season
The Red Wings went 33-36-13 to finish with 79 points, which was one more than the Buffalo Sabres for the worst record in the Atlantic division last season. Detroit was particularly bad at its own end of the ice with 244 goals allowed, which matched the New Jersey Devils for the worst mark in the Eastern Conference.
What Changed In The Offseason
The lack of significant offseason changes was a major surprise for hockey fans in Detroit. Rather than shake things up, the Red Wings decided to stay the course with the players they have on their roster. The one exception is the addition of defenseman Trevor Daley, who signed a three-year deal that will pay him $3.16 million per season. Detroit is still projected to be just over $3 million over the salary cap heading in to the season so they might have to make more moves just to get under the number.
Most Valuable Fantasy Hockey Asset
The one consistent in Detroit has been the play of veteran Henrik Zetterberg, who is back for his final season with the club. Zetterberg announced he will play one more year in the NHL and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to produce after performing at a high level last season. Zetterberg’s 68 points were 20 more than Gustav Nyqust for the most on the team a year ago and he was a plus-15. Consistency was a major issue when it came to fantasy options on the Red Wings last season. Zetterberg was the exception to that problem as he delivered another quality performance last year.
Rising Star
One of the reasons the Red Wings have gone from being a perennial contender to a team that missed the playoffs is because their farm system hadn’t produced. It seems like they have some nice prospects on the come-up, though.
The Red Wings definitely struck gold with Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin. Both players were the team’s first-round picks in 2013 and 2014. There’s a good chance that the next up-and-comer is their 2015 first-round pick, Evgeny Svechnikov, who they took 19th overall.
One of the reasons people are high on him is because he had 51 points in 74 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids last year. He then produced 12 points in 19 playoff games. He was a key contributor on a Calder Cup winning team.
What you have to like about him is that he’s not just a finesse player. He is a physical forward, compiling 167 penalty minutes in his two years in the Q.
Another guy to keep an eye on is Tyler Bertuzzi, a 2013 second-round pick. It seems like he also has a realistic chance of making the roster.
Regular Season Win Total Outlook
Detroit’s salary cap situation is an absolute mess. The Red Wings will pay Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen and Justin Abdelkader more than $19 million after none of those players hit the 50-point mark last season. Detroit might have to trade one of that group just to get under the salary cap threshold in time for the start of the regular season. The lack of improvements in the offseason are a concern. The fact that the rest of the Atlantic division should be even better this year means that the Red Wings are unlikely to improve on the 33 wins they recorded a year ago. Anything can happen, but right now Detroit appears destined to rank among the worst teams in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18.
Pick: Under 34.5
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