And through it all, he delivered the second most points of his career (42), and a career best in assists (33). He was tasked with facing top offensive players and often had the toughest faceoff assignments too. And with underlying numbers suggesting he’s been driving play favorably for years, there’s certainly reason to believe he can continue making a strong impact in a new sweater.Īndrew Copp: How will Compher’s arrival affect him?Ĭopp was put into some tough situations last year, both in terms of starting a season fresh off a surgery recovery and in the difficult matchups the Red Wings put him up against. His usage went from 16 minutes a night to closer to 20 - and the latter is probably about what he’ll get in Detroit. While he was playing alongside Mikko Rantanen a lot in Colorado, he also generally played more. The biggest piece of encouragement? Compher’s breakout didn’t come out of nowhere. He doesn’t need to turn in 50 points every year to make good on his five-year contract, but a dip back into the low 30s would be concerning. And Detroit will need him to keep it up - at least for the most part. Certainly, that’s a well-timed season in a contract year, but he leaves behind a cushy supporting cast in Denver for a much stingier team context with the Red Wings. Compher: Can he keep up the offense in new surroundings?ĭetroit’s biggest free-agent signing this summer, Compher is fresh off a 52-point season in Colorado - a career best by a whopping 19 points. He’s one of their most important players, and the boost from DeBrincat’s arrival will be lessened if it coincides with a drop-off from Perron. The former would seem to make the most sense, as Perron could still use his remarkable puck protection ability and distribute from below the goal line, but whichever route the Red Wings take, they’ll need Perron to not miss a beat. He was a weapon.īut it’s hard to see Perron maintaining his hold on the top unit’s left flank spot with DeBrincat in the fold, which points to either a new positioning (as a facilitator behind the net, perhaps?) or a new unit. Of his 56 points last season, 22 came with the man advantage. Perron was a big part of the reason Detroit’s power play jumped from a 16.3 percent conversion rate to 21.1 percent last season. But now that he’s proven his high-end offensive performance is a baseline, there’s room to take one more step on the other end of the puck, too.ĭavid Perron: Can he adjust to a new power play role? My question, though: Can he do that and take the step toward being an elite defensive center, too? The potential for that kind of two-way impact has always been there for Larkin, and he took a step in that direction last season by logging his most penalty-kill usage in five years. With DeBrincat in tow, surpassing 80 points feels like a strong possibility. So the question now is: What’s next? He’s coming off his second consecutive season with 30-plus goals and was once again just shy of a point per game. Last summer, the questions for Larkin revolved around his contract status, which lasted right up until he signed an eight-year, $8.7 million AAV extension on March 1. If Raymond can get into the 65-plus points range, it would instantly make the Red Wings much more threatening.ĭylan Larkin: What’s next for Detroit’s captain? We’ll get our first sense of what might be on tap for Raymond in camp, as adding muscle was a key objective this summer, but after that, the biggest question might be how Detroit chooses to deploy him - on a loaded top line opposite DeBrincat, or away from the newly-acquired scorer. He’s coming off a dip in his second NHL season, but the skill and creativity that propelled him to a 57-point rookie season are still difference-making traits. While DeBrincat was the big offseason addition, Raymond may be the player who can most affect Detroit’s short- and long-term outlook with a big season in 2023-24. Lucas Raymond: Is he ready for a breakthrough? But if DeBrincat can become Detroit’s first 40-goal scorer Marian Hossa in 2008-09? Safe to say his hometown fans are ready to go wild for it. Last season, it took 32 goals to lead the team, and delivering that kind of output would make a huge difference for the Red Wings. But last year, in his first season away from Chicago, his production dipped down to 27 goals - still a very strong number, but not quite at that game-changing level he showed in 2018-22.įrankly, DeBrincat does not need to be a 40-goal scorer for Detroit to feel good about acquiring and extending him. He’s one of the truly elite scorers in the league. Since the 2018-19 season, only 13 NHL players have more goals than the Red Wings’ biggest offseason addition. So before the first whistle blows, we asked - and answered - one question for every roster player entering camp, starting with Detroit’s forwards.Īlex DeBrincat: Can he rediscover his 40-goal form?
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