Three Questions for the Detroit Red Wings Going into the 2022/23 Season

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The Detroit Red Wings ended last season on a sour note. The first half of the 2021/22 season went well, and it looked like they could surprise some people. Then, the second half hit, and it was the Red Wings of the past few seasons.

General manager Steve Yzerman had enough and was determined to make changes with some cap space to fill needs, and he did just that. Yzerman was a Red Wings legend who came into the NHL as a player in this type of situation and knows what it is like to rebuild and start over.

The Red Wings dug themselves a hole during the Ken Holland era by signing players to bad contracts and extending players who should have been let go.

Going into his third season as general manager, Yzerman believes he finally has a team that could possibly make the playoffs and sees a bright future for this team.

There are three questions facing the Red Wings entering the new season.

Yzerman has taken this team and made it his team, slowly putting in pieces that make this team playoff-eligible and once again Stanley Cup contenders. However, he knows it will not be an easy ride getting this team back to where it needs to be.

Rebuilds are long and never easy for the fans or management. Yzerman is a smart man and he knows how this team should look, not how the fans want it to look.

Yzerman is taking his time and molding this team the right way. He is making the necessary moves and not making moves just to make moves.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were not an elite team when he took over, but he made the right moves and now they are in playoff contention every year.

With all of the new players also comes a new head coach, Derek Lalonde, a fresh face that will also have a new voice.

The 2022/23 version of the Detroit Red Wings will look much different than last season. Money was spent, roster voids were filled, and new life has been put into the franchise, which is hoping to make the playoffs after years of struggling.

Yzerman has made sure this team will be competitive and not the same as last season, and not have the same play on the ice. He is committed to making this team fun and exciting yet also hard-working and dedicated to winning.

With all of the new faces, there are three questions facing the Red Wings entering the new season.

Andrew Copp (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Can The New Roster Come Together?

During the offseason, the Red Wings added scoring, depth, defense, and goaltending to help round out the roster. The players added are legit NHL players who have been in the league and know what it takes to win.

Yzerman added forwards Andrew Copp, David Perron, Dominik Kubalik, and Matt Luff, defensemen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, and Robert Hagg, plus goaltender Ville Husso.

Detroit added 77 goals and 114 assists for 191 points from last season and the new additions account for just under 50% of the total roster.

Before we get too optimistic with predictions, Luff will most likely be with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, and Kubalik is likely to go to the bottom six just based on the roster and how it shakes out.

This group, along with the Red Wings that are coming back, looks playoff-bound on paper. The real question is how will this group gel together. This is a lot of new faces that are coming onto the roster and it may take a while to figure out each other’s tendencies.

Captain Dylan Larkin has the tough job of getting everyone on the same page in time for a good start to the season. Larkin, Detroit’s top center, has to be thankful for the job Yzerman has done to get the team more scoring and depth, two things they severely lacked the past few seasons.

This forward group should be considerably better than last season. More goals, more contributions, and better defensive play from the forwards may just make this team competitive enough to grab that last playoff spot.

Ville Husso (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Can Nedeljkovic and Husso Be the Tandem Detroit Needs?

One of the bigger issues Detroit had last season was inconsistent goaltending. Alex Nedeljkovic, acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes, provided steady goaltending. For the most part, he looked like a goaltender who can take this team places, often stealing games on his own.

However, when the team really struggled, so did he. Nedeljkovic overall had a good season, all things considered, going 20-24-9 with 4 shutouts, a 3.31 GAA, and a .901 save percentage.

With the addition of Husso, Nedeljkovic should have his numbers improved and some pressure will be taken off of him.

Ville Husso was acquired in a sign and trade with the St. Louis Blues. Last season, Husso had an extremely good year, going 25-7-6 with 2 shutouts, a 2.55 GAA, and a .919 save percentage.

Husso gives Detroit a legit one-two punch in the net and can push Nedeljkovic to the Calder Trophy nomination-type season he had two years ago.

The goaltending duo is a big upgrade from last season. This tandem is one that reminds me of Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood in the way that they were both solid, NHL-quality netminders capable of taking Detroit to the playoffs.

The Red Wings should feel comfortable with either one in the net as the collapses of last season should be well behind the team now.

The number one goaltender situation remains unclear at the moment, but we cannot fault the decision of the coach of who he puts between the pipes in game one.

Derek Lalonde (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

How Will Coach Lalonde Adapt to the Role of Head Coach?

Head Coach Derek Lalonde comes to the Red Wings after four successful years as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay. He learned from the best in coach Jon Cooper and looks to bring his knowledge and experience to Detroit.

Lalonde has many years of coaching experience, but his pro experience began as head coach of the ECHL Toledo Walleye, racking up 97 wins from 2014-2016.

After success in Toledo, he found his way to the AHL with the Iowa Wild as head coach. While in Iowa he won 69 games from 2016-2018.

He continued his journey by accepting an assistant coaching position with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was there from 2018-2022, winning 192 games.

Lalonde is described as a very demanding coach but in a positive manner. Players knew where they stood as far as their place on the roster and ice time. As a veteran coach, he has his work cut out for him in Detroit, with the new faces coming in and the team’s recent struggles.

His main job is to improve the special teams and defense, which have been suspect for years now. Lalonde is not expected to take Detroit to the Stanley Cup Finals just yet but to improve point totals and their place in the standings, and to get everyone clicking and on the same page.

If nothing else, one should see an improvement in team attitude with the abundance of changes.

More. The Red Wings need to move quickly at extending this player. light

These changes are for the better, and we should see a good, solid team this year in Detroit that should compete harder and have closer games than before. Lalonde is a great coach and should change the overall outlook of the team.

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