Detroit Red Wings: It’s time to move on from Jonathan Ericsson
By Tyler Samson
Jonathan Ericsson has been nothing short of disappointing in his 12 year career with Detroit. The time has come for the Detroit Red Wings to move on.
When the Detroit Red Wings drafted Jonathan Ericsson in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 291st overall, they felt they were getting a physical, shutdown defenseman. At 6’4” and 220 pounds, they felt that Ericsson possessed all the tools to be a successful defenseman in the ever-evolving NHL. Unfortunately, he has not lived up to the expectations and hype that surrounded him when he was drafted in 2002. After 12 seasons it is time for the Red Wings to part ways with Ericsson.
In 630 career NHL games, Ericsson has scored 27 goals, tallied 96 assists and clocked 514 minutes. These numbers are underwhelming and not up to par for a defenseman that has been in the same system for 12 years.
At 34 years of age, Ericsson’s best days are behind him and his stats have confirmed this claim. He is on track to have his third consecutive with less than 15 points, which is far less than the league average for defensemen with over 50 games played a season.
Ericsson is signed with the Red Wings until the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. With a modified no-trade clause, moving him will be difficult for the Wings, especially since the acquiring team will likely have to eat up his $4.25 million cap hit for the 2020-21 season. However, if they elect to buyout Ericsson, they will have to pay him $2,833,333 over a two-year period.
The most practical scenario for the Red Wings is to scratch Jonathan Ericsson and play a young defenseman. They must cut their losses and just deal with Ericsson and his contract until it expires, or at least try to deal him if any team are interested.
Ideally, the Red Wings should give Ericsson’s minutes to defensemen like Joe Hicketts or Dylan McIlrath. Players like Hicketts and McIlrath are young and are the future of the team. In order to develop them, the Red Wings need to give them NHL experience.
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For too long, they have had to suffer with costly turnovers, lack of offensive contributions, and defensive breakdowns from Ericsson. Enough is enough, the time has come for the Red Wings and Ericsson to move on.