Puck Daddy’s 2016-17 NHL Preview: Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings

Last Season

After Mike Babcock followed the money all the way to Toronto, it was expected that the Detroit Red Wings would enter into a new era under head coach Jeff Blashill – a post-playoff streak era.

Think again: The Red Wings extended their playoff qualification streak to 25 seasons with a 41-30-11 (93 points) record and a third-place finish in the Atlantic Division. They were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, but still: playoffs! Again!

Now, the Red Wings enter yet another new era: The post-Pavel Datsyuk one, as the Russian hockey legend left for the KHL.

Can the Red Wings keep the streak going for another season?

2015-16 Season, In One Picture

Did They Get Better, Worse, Or Are They About The Same?

Worse.

While it’s true that Pavel Datsyuk isn’t the player he once was, he was far from a liability. He was still a driver of possession and a quality defensive player. He’ll be an asset to the Arizona Coyotes.

Frans Nielsen, 32, is an underrated two-way forward that could thrive in the Red Wings’ system and as a linemate with Henrik Zetterberg. Five years is a bit of term for him, but in the short term, he helps.

But overall, GM Ken Holland handed up a collection of questionable contracts to re-sign his own players, failed to significantly upgrade the blueline and placed band-aids like Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott on his roster in the hopes that they produce above expectations.

Five Most Fascinating Players

1 – Dylan Larkin

Larkin burst onto the scene last season with an impressive rookie year (23 goals, 22 assists in 80 games) but he slammed into the rookie wall in February: In his last 32 games, Larkin had 12 points and skated to a minus-13. What his sophomore season looks like will determine a lot for the Red Wings’ offense. Will the “Snip Show” be on again? And is he shifting to center?

2 – Petr Mrazek

The 23-year-old goalie has looked sharp in the World Cup after an impressive (if uneven) season for the Red Wings. He finished with a .921 save percentage and a 27-16-6 record, and earned himself a tidy $8 million, 2-year deal. With Jimmy Howard still around, what’s his workload going to look like?

3 – Henrik Zetterberg

Like Datsyuk, not the player he was, but he remains an elite two-way forward and the leader of this team. He saw a 16-point drop despite playing five more games. Blowing off the World Cup was a smart decision.

4 – Gustav Nyquist

The Goose saw his goal total drop from an average of 27.5 over the previous two seasons to just 17 in 2015-16. That can be chalked up to an abnormally low shooting percentage (10.6), as his possession numbers remained strong. Expect a rebound.

5 – Andreas Athanasiou

Incredible speed, unmatched on this team, but can he put together the total package to force his way into prominent ice time? It’s a contract year, so keep that in mind, too.

Mascot Hijinks Video Break

(Since the Red Wings don’t have a mascot, we’ve run a video of Steve Ott instead.)

Can We Trust Them At Even Strength?

You can trust they’ll hold onto the puck, and score more than last season.

The Red Wings were ninth in the NHL in adjusted Corsi at 51.82 percent, as coach Jeff Blashill took over a strong possession team and had it stay the course.

Larkin led the team with 19 of his 23 goals at even strength, but overall the Red Wings simply didn’t score enough at 5-on-5: They were 25th in the NHL in even-strength goals with 130, which is fewer than the Arizona Coyotes had. They were 17th in goals-against at 5-on-5 with 138. This can be chalked up to offensive declines from Nyquist and Tomas Tatar (21 goals), but obviously the Red Wings need to be better.

One assumes Larkin moves to center, which could mean Nyquist and either Zetterberg or Justin Adbelkader on his flanks. (While he shouldn’t have been in the top six for Team USA, Adbelkader does fine here with 19 goals last season.)

Nielsen is a great second-line center, especially with his defensive prowess; he and Zetterberg as a pairing would be a shutdown duo that could also hurt you offensively. Riley Sheahan figures to be the third-line center.

Blashill has some decisions to make regarding Athanasiou, rookie Anthony Mantha along with Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Jurco, who are both coming off injuries.

The wild card is Vanek, coming in on a one-year “show me” contract after two frustrating seasons with the Minnesota Wild ended in a buyout. He’s still good for about 20 goals; can he give them more?

Defensively, Danny DeKeyser (of the questionable new contract) is the defensive rock for Mike Green, who had 35 points in his first season in Detroit, skating 19:46. Niklas Kronwall, who skipped the World Cup to rest for the season, and Jonathan Ericsson are the likely second pairing, with Brendan Smith, Alexey Marchenko, Xavier Ouellet and the recently singed Ryan Sproul in the mix.

Can We Trust Them On Special Teams?

Not really, although some new additions make them intriguing.

The Red Wings were No. 13 in the NHL last season on the power play at 18.8 percent, earning the seventh most power plays in the League last season (266). Datsyuk led the team with eight power-play goals; needless to say, they need more from Tatar and Nyquist here. Mike Green contributed 20 power-play points. The addition of Vanek (14 power-play points) is an interesting one here.

The Red Wings were 14th in the NHL on the penalty kill (81.5) and took the eighth most penalties (271) last season. Luke Glendening and Drew Miller (28 games) led the team in average time on the PK, but one expects to see Nielsen added to the mix here. Danny DeKeyser (2:41) left for defensemen.

Can We Trust Their Goaltending?

Mrazek sported a .929 EV save percentage overall. There were times when it looked like he could challenge for a Vezina, and there were times when it looked like the Red Wings did well to keep Howard (.914) around.

The bottom line is that Mrazek is the kind of goalie that can carry a team by himself for stretches, and that’s an asset.

Player Mostly Likely To Be In Vegas Next Season

Jimmy Howard.

Oh, wait, sorry, Ken Holland isn’t writing this preview. Potentially one of the young forwards or, in an upset, Niklas Kronwall.

Coach Hot Seat Rating (1-10, 10 being scorching hot)

Two. Blashill basically just got there and even if the Red Wings see their playoff streak end, he’s got a long run ahead of him. Well, depending on what happens to his general manager, who is clearly in his ‘Peter Chiarelli contract overcompensation’ phase.

Prediction

The playoff streak ends.

It’s going to be very close, as this Red Wings team is talented and should see a resurgence from some offensive players who slumped. But someone in that division (and conference) will be on the outside looking in, and unfortunately, for the first time in 26 seasons, it’ll be the Red Wings.

But it’s not like people weren’t predicting this for last season too, and look what happened …

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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