Follow me on Twitter
The Griffins are worth the drive, at least I think so. There is genuine development going on, and Kevin Allen published a nice piece about Chase Pearson on “Detroit Hockey Now”. Yzerman is very involved with scouting and development, and it’s a credit to a man who does an insane amount of work.
So, I’m trying to get a grasp on who this Red Wings team is going to be this year. Losing Bertuzzi last season re-emphasized the lack of depth. Outside of the numbers, there’s the intangibles. When Bert and Larkin are on the ice together, it’s like watching the tempo go from a blue jay to a humming bird. Or going from decaf maxwell house to a 6 shot espresso. (I worked in coffee shops from around age 16 to 22. One night i got into an espresso drinking contest with an Italian kid. Fifth dumbest thing I did that week. I laid on my bed and shook for hours).
So, for the tangibles. I’m going on the assumption that the top line will be Bertuzzi-Larkin-Vrana. This also assumes a healthy season for all three. I know I’ll probably get some grief, but here are my goal guesses.
Vrana - I think this is the year he hits 30. If he’s given top line minutes and top power play minutes, he should be able to hit that. 10 of those goals could easily be on the breakaway. At this point, there isn’t a more dangerous skate and shoot player. I hope he serves every bench minor in the box, because a stretch pass after a successful kill would result in a solid attempt on net. A bit like Doug Brown back in the playoffs, when Vrana is fresh on the ice he can just blow through the defense. This is also the guy you want to swap out when the play changes direction. If Detroit carries from the defensive zone down to the O zone, get him on as the “late man in” with a quick swap. His defensive play isn’t great. I don’t mind having a “cherry picker” in the neutral zone, waiting for an outlet pass from the four man defensive unit. Yes, he needs to improve, but I hope we can at least adjust to get some more offensive opportunities.
Bertuzzi - If healthy, I think Bert hits 25+. He’s a completely different type of scorer than Vrana. He’s a bull dog. Net front, dig pucks out of corners, get your second chances. Good on a “give and go” breakout with his linemates. I can see Tyler scoring and walking away with a bloody nose. (Probably not knowing he got hurt). Players who can produce in that type of chaos are necessary against really high level defensive teams. He’s not Holmstrom, but has some of that grit. (Homer famously came to training camp after retiring and said he thought the kids were “soft”. I don’t think I’ve seen someone able to function through more abuse than him). Tyler could have a nice mix of tip ins, rebound collects, and in tight “quiet area” goals.
Larkin - hoping for 25 from the captain. Larkin is 200ft. Though he only got to skate with Zetterberg for a very short time, he learned a lot about being a defensive center. “Z” went to Blashill and pushed hard for Larkin to be on the team after just his second camp. Z also pushed Larkin to be harder defensively. The former captain would say things like, “you can score 30 goals in this league playing like that, but you’ll never win a cup”. Larkin has toed every line drawn for him. He skates as hard in the D zone as he does in the O zone. What he played through last season was a lot of pain to try and lead the team. Healthy and with a hard skating line, the top 3 should be very exciting.
So that will put us at 80-85 goals for the top line. I’d love to see more, I’m just trying to get a solid grasp on where things will land. Let me know how many red lights you think the top line will grab.
Check out some of my previous posts:
The Griffins are worth the drive, at least I think so.
My third “looking forward” looked at Pius Suter.
My second “looking forward” focused on Alex Nedeljkovic.
My first “looking forward” talked about Moritz Seider.
Jakub Vrana and Adam Erne have filed for arbitration.
I posted “The Winged Wheel season 3, ep 1”
I posted Yzerman’s Zoom call
I posted Pius Suter’s Zoom call
I did a wrap up of the “Frenzy”.
Pius Suter highlighted the opening day of free agency.
Yesterday was a free agency “primer”
Svechnikov was not qualified by Wings, and Lindstrom signed for 2 years.
Marc Staal returns for 1 year, 2M
I posted my final thoughts about the 2021 draft
Day 2 of the 2021 draft can be found here
You can take a look at Detroit’s first round results here.
Yzerman extended Rasmussen and acquired Alex Nedeljkovic yesterday.
Seattle has selected Dennis Cholowski.
While we wait on RFA contract status for Detroit
RedWings TV did a quick hit on centers MacTavish and Lusius as possible draft targets
Detroit acquired Leddy for Panik, 52nd pick
The market for Zack Hyman is blowing up.
Yzerman has kept contracts short and sweet. 
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»