The Detroit Red Wings are a little under a month from the start of training camp, and the franchise has no one in the GM chair presiding over the roster.
The team has been largely silent since parting ways with Steve Yzerman, and now, with two weeks left until the start of prospect development camp, the Red Wings will need to have some young players grow up fast. Especially with no sign of any external additions to bolster the roster coming.
SwitchboardOne of the main needs for the Red Wings going into the offseason was a top six caliber forward, preferably at center. Instead, the team was only able to acquire Viktor Arvidsson, and lost one of their top six centers in Patrick Kane.
The Red Wings will need to figure quickly need to find out if Emmitt Finnie is going to avoid a sophomore slump. If he does, the team could bump him down to the second line wing and bump Alex DeBrincat up to the first line, letting Arvidsson play on the second line.
However, who centers that second line for the Red Wings is going to matter potentially more than even their first line.
Discussing Marco Kasper’s sophomore slump has been beaten like a dead horse, but looking forward, the young Austrian centerman is facing a make-or-break year. However, if Andrew Copp is the other center in the top six, the Red Wings won’t have much to look forward to at the position this year.
On the other hand, if Kasper can drive play effectively as a second line center and look more like the version of himself from his rookie year, there’s a bit less pressure on the team when or if Dylan Larkin makes an exit from the lineup.
Bumping Kasper up to the top line would be stretching things, but when needs must, the devil drives.
Youth movementLast year the Red Wings saw several of their younger prospects make their NHL debut with the team and make the opening night roster. Three rookies hit the ice for the first month of the season, but injuries and eventually the development curve left only Finnie on the 23 man NHL roster.
This year, however, the Red Wings have several spots up for grabs that should hopefully go to a couple of players that are finally healthy. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was the first rookie to get demoted to the AHL, but his hard hitting style and slick shot caught a lot of eyes by the end of the season. With a full year of North American hockey under his belt, he has a real shot to make an impact wherever he finds himself in the lineup.
Between Carter Mazur, and Nate Danielson, the Red Wings should be able to round out their bottom six. However, they’ll need to prove they’ve earned a spot and can handle the punishment a full NHL season will bring.
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