Pool Outlook for Detroit

It was certainly a challenging season for the Detroit Red Wings, as injuries to the team's core group of veterans made things awfully interesting for the club and some goaltending concerns made some games harder to win.  Nevertheless, the Red Wings came out of it all, making the playoffs yet again, thanks to their leadership and mental fortitude.

That mental fortitude didn't quite live up to the expectations, however, as they faced a high-powered Tampa Bay Lightning team in the opening round of the playoffs, a team that had much better regular season and then flexed some muscles against these Red Wings in six games.

The Red Wings do become the centre of one of the more interesting free agency stories of the off-season, since their head coach, Mike Babcock, may be hitting the open market and the whole dynamic of the team likely changes with the possible move at the top.  The Red Wings are still likely to have a strong core, but their direction may be where the big challenges come from.

It will be a very interesting storyline next season and it may have an effect on the hockey pool, maybe more so in terms of the depth that is taken for points, rather than the superstars that are locks to pick up those key points.

At the end of the regular season, 18 Detroit players on the roster, were touched in one way or another in the hockey pool, 15 of them still on active teams, while three of them were dropped due to injury.  Of course, the Wings were active at the deadline, picking up two of those active players to increase their total, but they have been a popular team for a number of years and they still might be, until otherwise suggested.

It wasn't a great season for the Detroit scorers, but the optics of the rankings don't look too terribly bad, considering the injury problems.  Henrik Zetterberg missed five games in the season, but still managed to finish 40th overall in pool scoring, scoring 17 goals and 66 points.  Zetterberg was carrying the Red Wings through a lot of the difficult times and was one of the biggest reasons why Detroit made the playoffs yet again.

Pavel Datsyuk scored at over a point-per-game, but he had only played 63 games, picking up 65 points to rank 2nd on the team in scoring, so staying healthy is the name of the game for him.  In total, the Red Wings, by the end of the season, had six more players that were deemed pool worthy, thanks to their trade deadline pick-ups.  Tomas Tatar had 29 goals, Gustav Nyquist had 27 goals, Justin Abdelkader had 23 goals, while Erik Cole finished with 39 points, Riley Sheahan had 36 points and Darren Helm had 33 points.  With the amount of homegrown talent through their system, the Wings are not likely to go through that awful rebuild process any time soon.

A team formerly known for their top end defense had a trio of defenders that picked up enough points that would have been considered worthy for the pool this year.  Niklas Kronwall had 44 points, deadline pick-up Mark Zidlicky had 34 points and Dan DeKeyser had 31 points.  Kronwall ranked 19th among blueliners, so there was some top end help there, you just have to pick them up at the right time.

In goal, the big money maker Jimmy Howard was given the bulk of the work, but his numbers were not terribly spectacular, winning 23 games and getting 51 points this season, picking up about a point for every 60 minutes in the crease.  He finished 25th among all keepers.  His back-up for the better part of the season, Petr Mrazek, did have some better numbers, picking up 16 wins and 38 points, picking up the slack, especially late in the season and into the playoffs, picking up 1.44 points for every 60 minutes.  He finished 33rd among all goalies.

2016 Pool Outlook

If there is going to be any sort of question mark for this Detroit side is whether or not their coaching staff is going to change and if it does, how will that affect the team's abilities to score goals?  Well, I don't think a coaching change, if it happens, is something that will affect the overall talent of some of these players, as the Red Wings have talent up the wazoo.  The concern of a new coach would be more about the team game and how that affects their defense and their ability to win games.  Now that there are some question marks in net after these playoffs, the Red Wings have a lot for us to chew on this Summer.

One of the team's top prospects, forward Anthony Mantha, was berated in the media after a poor showing in the AHL playoffs last week, which calls into question what his availability will be with the team next season.  Nevertheless, the lanky goal scorer remains on the radar as someone to watch.  Landon Ferraro had a brief showing in the regular season, playing three games and then getting some playoff action, coming along in the Detroit model well and another one to keep an eye on.  The Traverse City rookie tournament will be a good showcase to the talent they have in waiting in the wings and it might be a good place to get a feel of where the next one is coming from.

Free Agency and the Salary Cap

Unrestricted free agency will give the team a little bit more flexibility for the 2016 season, as rentals Erik Cole and Marek Zidlicky head to the open market, while injured goalie Jonas Gustavsson's time may be up with the Red Wings.

The Wings will be busy with some restricted free agents, as Gustav Nyquist will be looking for a new deal, as will Tomas Jurco and defenseman Brendan Smith.  Nyquist may command a decent raise after a couple good years, which will make their cap number interesting.

Currently, I have the Red Wings in with 32 players signed on for the 2016 season, coming in at a grand total of $66.2 million, leaving a fair bit of room for the players that need new deals and maybe some extra depth.

Needs at the 2015 Entry Draft

The Red Wings have been doing a good job of drafting forwards and going out and finding quality defensemen through the undrafted ranks, namely someone like Dan DeKeyser.  Goaltending might be a need in this draft, but it won't be a 1st round concern for this team, as they are not likely going to bump themselves up to get one.  The Red Wings can afford to be patient, but will likely want someone that possesses two or more tools.  I have the Red Wings taking Czech defenseman Jakub Zboril with the 19th pick this year.  Composure and size from the back end have to be a very intriguing mix for the Red Wings.

What I Said Last Year, At This Time...

I can't see the Red Wings having nearly as difficult of a year in 2015, rather the bodies that they missed for most of the year should be good to go and I think that's going to be the difference between then and now. Datsyuk and Zetterberg should be back with a vengeance, while their up-and-coming talent like Nyquist and Tatar have a bit more experience. Their back end is learning to live without the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom now and the goaltending will come around with the overall team confidence. Things can change with the coin flip of fate, but I would think that the amount of things that need to go wrong for this team to not make the playoffs is improbable.

2014 was a ridiculous year for the Red Wings and injuries, but 2015 was no picnic either.  Datsyuk missed a couple hand fulls of games, while Zetterberg also missed some time, but what really made up for it was their youth, like Nyquist and Tatar, who each scored some big goals this year.  The defense played okay, the acquisition of Zidlicky helped down the stretch and goaltending was a question, but worked when called upon.  It wasn't comfortable, but the Red Wings made it into the playoffs, despite enough things to work against them.

There are going to be some difficult decisions that need to be made for this Red Wings team, but when you really break down how this team is made up, the fallout of any major move out of town should not drastically effect the team and their winning ways.  Management has a good hold of where the roster is and the number of quality replacements in any position should make for an easier transition.  I think the Red Wings will continue the path that they are on, no matter the circumstances, barring an absolute tragedy, of course.  Don't be too afraid to project the Red Wings well next season.