The Tampa Bay Lightning are now members of the Atlantic Division, with new rivals and of course some old ones. Today our own Jason Haas previews the Detroit Red Wings.
2013: 24-16-8. 7th in West.
CURRENT SALARIES: $66,265,379 (see full breakdown at capgeek.com)
DEPARTURES: Damien Brunner, Valtteri Filppula, Ian White, Carlo Colaiacovo.
ARRIVALS: Daniel Alfredsson, Stephen Weiss.
FORWARDS: Never one to rest on his laurels, GM Ken Holland replaced his departing free agents admirably with the Cup-hungry Daniel Alfredsson and the escaped-from-Pantherland Stephen Weiss. The Red Wings’ forward situation is a bit of a mess as the team currently has 17 forwards under contract and only plans to carry 14. Darren Helm is likely to start the season on IR, but with two more players left to deal with, a trade is likely in the works. If not, look for some creative GM’ing from Mr. Holland.
Detroit’s offense is slated to be as dangerous as ever. This team is built to have incredible depth and be dangerous with all four lines. Typically this means that you do not have a bonafide superstar, but this is not the case with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in the fold. The addition of a solid number two center in Weiss likely means lots of time together for the “Eurotwins.”
DEFENSEMEN: Though you can never replace a legend like Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit’s defense surprised a lot of people last season with their solid play. Niklas Kronwall has taken to his leadership role very well. Jonathan Ericsson is coming into his own as a stay-at-home blueliner. Young guns Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl continued to gain experience, with Kindl looking noticeably improved and earning a four year extension in the process. Danny DeKeyser stepped off of the ice at Western Michigan University and did not look out of place at all in the NHL. The same goes for Brian Lashoff, whose promotion from Grand Rapids due to injuries and adept play earned him a three year extension.
GOALIES: Jimmy Howard, for whatever reason, is usually not included in the highest tier of elite goaltenders when such lists are produced by the media. However, back-to-back seasons with a 2.13 GAA and .920+ save percentage (along with a six year, $31.75 million extension) would indicate otherwise.
His backup, Jonas Gustavsson, has been less than impressive in a Red Wings uniform. His inconsistency led to severely limited appearances last season, where he played only seven games with a 2.92 GAA and a dismal .879 save percentage. Unless this season is a complete turnaround, there’s no way Detroit will retain him.
Young Petr Mrazek shows a lot of promise and led the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins to the Calder Cup last season. Additionally, he played two games for the Red Wings with a stellar 2.02 GAA and .922 save percentage. At 21, there’s no way Detroit will have him on the bench in the NHL over starting time in the AHL. That being said, there’s a good chance Mrazek will earn an NHL job in 2014-15.
SCHEDULE VERSUS LIGHTNING: @Detroit November 9, @Tampa Bay December 12, @Detroit November 15, @Tampa Bay February 8, @Detroit March 30.
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