Detroit Red Wings: Adam Erne is excited about new opportunity

Adam Erne had a hard time cracking the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup, but after being traded to the Detroit Red Wings, he’s ready to prove himself.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the deepest teams in the NHL. They’ve lost several players because of that depth. Jonathan Marchessault stands out. The latest lost player is forward Adam Erne, who found himself traded to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2020 fourth-round pick.

Immediately after the trade, general manager Steve Yzerman, who used to be in charge in Tampa, signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million. With the Lightning, Erne was nothing more than a bottom-six forward. There were very few opportunities for him to see his role increased. That tends to happen when you have a lineup as deep as the Lightning.

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Erne, though, sees his new opportunity in Detroit as a good thing. During an interview following the trade, he talked about how he’s ready to prove he’s more than just a fourth-line forward.

“It is, it’s really tough,” Erne said, via The Athletic. “It was a really deep lineup, it was a really great group of guys. But at the same time, that’s why it’s so exciting to come to a team like Detroit where there is the opportunity to move up in the lineup.”

Yzerman knows Erne well, so it’s got to be a confidence booster for Erne that Yzerman wanted him on the Red Wings. Last season, he found a spot in the Lightning’s lineup after two years of going back and forth between the AHL and NHL. In 65 games, Erne scored seven goals and had 13 assists for 20 points.

Because he was in a fourth-line role, his deployment wasn’t that generous. Erne had 142 zone starts in the offensive at five-on-five. Ryan Callahan was the only Lightning forward with fewer offensive zone starts. Despite this, Erne posted a positive relative expected goals for percentage and the Lightning outscored the opposition with him on the ice.

With Tampa, he had to compete with players like Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, and Brayden Point for playing time. Erne sort of got lost in their depth, which isn’t surprising because the Lightning had one of the deepest rosters of the salary cap era.

In Detroit, there should be more spots open for him. The Red Wings should be able to give Erne chances to prove himself. He has proven himself to be at the very least, a very capable bottom-six forward. Erne’s production proves he might be a little bit more than that.

He should be able to help the Red Wings power play. Erne didn’t get much time there in Tampa, which isn’t surprising. But he did get time there in the AHL and he was fairly productive there. With the Lighting, Erne averaged just 30 seconds per game on the power-play during the 2018-19 season. But he did get two goals there.

The Red Wings need more skilled forwards. Erne is an experienced forward who has had quite a bit of success in the AHL. He’s in a much better position to prove himself than he was in Tampa.