Detroit Red Wings 2017 Season Preview: Draft Utopia

Detroit Red Wings 2017 Season Preview

The Detroit Red Wings playoff streak finally came to an end after 25 seasons. Can the Red Wings get back on track in 2017-2018?

Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Posted on 8/31/2017.

Detroit Red Wings Line 1 Forwards

Player	Position	Games Played	Height	Weight	Goals	Assists	Points
Tomas Tatar	Left Wing	82	5-foot-10-inches	185-pounds	25	21	46
Henrik Zetterberg	Center	82	5-foot-11-inches	197-pounds	17	51	68
Gustav Nyquist	Right Wing	76	5-foot-11-inches	183-pounds	12	36	48

Detroit Red Wings Line 2 Forwards

Player	Position	Games Played	Height	Weight	Goals	Assists	Points
Anthony Mantha	Left Wing	60	6-foot-5-inches	221-pounds	17	19	36
Dylan Larkin	Center	80	6-foot-1-inches	190-pounds	17	15	32
Andreas Athanasiou	Right Wing	64	6-foot-2-inches	188-pounds	18	11	29

Detroit Red Wings Line 3 Forwards

Player	Position	Games Played	Height	Weight	Goals	Assists	Points
Darren Helm	Left Wing	50	6-foot-0-inches	196-pounds	8	9	17
Frans Nielsen	Center	79	6-foot-1-inches	188-pounds	17	24	41
Justin Abdelkader	Right Wing	64	6-foot-1-inches	219-pounds	7	14	21

Detroit Red Wings Line 4 Forwards

Player	Position	Games Played	Height	Weight	Goals	Assists	Points
Tyler Bertuzzi	Left Wing	67	6-foot-1-inches	194-pounds	21	35	54
Riley Sheahan	Center	80	6-foot-3-inches	222-pounds	2	11	13
Evgeny Svechnikov	Right Wing	74	6-foot-3-inches	205-pounds	20	31	51

Detroit Red Wings Forwards Review: Detroit had to deal with injuries along with the sudden departure of Pavel Datsyuk last season which is the biggest reason they missed the playoffs. This team is pretty deep at forward because Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin are going to compliment their top line featuring Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg, and Gustav Nyquist.

Frans Nielsen compliments Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader perfectly on the third line. Riley Sheahan may be getting demoted to the fourth line. That's not an issue though since Tyler Bertuzzi and Evgeny Svechnikov were huge pieces on the Grand Rapids Griffins AHL affiliate of the Red Wings which won the 2017 Calder Cup as the best minor league hockey team.

Detroit was 26th in goals scored and 27th on the power play in 2016-2017. There is no question that those numbers will improve in 2017-2018.

Detroit Red Wings Defensive Lines

Player	Line	Games Played	Height	Weight	Goals	Assists	Points
Mike Green	Line 1	72	6-foot-1-inches	207-pounds	14	22	36
Danny DeKeyser	Line 1	82	6-foot-3-inches	191-pounds	4	8	12
Trevor Daley	Line 2	56	5-foot-11-inches	195-pounds	5	14	19
Xavier Ouellet	Line 2	66	6-foot-1-inches	208-pounds	3	9	12
Niklas Kronwall	Line 3	57	6-foot-0-inches	190-pounds	2	11	13
Jonathan Ericsson	Line 3	51	6-foot-4-inches	221-pounds	1	8	9

Detroit Red Wings Defense Review Detroit has 6 defensemen that can play well enough to get the Red Wings back to the playoffs if they apply themselves. Danny DeKeyser is much better on the second line, and my issue is he's still playing next to Mike Green on the top line. The one bright spot with DeKeyser though is he was the only Red Wing to play in all 82 games last season. Outside of Mike Green there isn't a defender who can set up scoring opportunities consistently.

Trevor Daley from the Pittsburgh Penguins was a great addition at defensive defenseman since he won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh and had to be the leader of that blue line during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs when Kris Letang was injured. Xavier Ouellet is making enough progress to be a top 4 defender.

Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson both have experience on the top 4. Both players are older though so they should be very effective on the third line if both can stay healthy.

This defense has potential to get Detroit back to the postseason when healthy. You can also argue there isn't enough consistency from this back-line. That could be what keeps Detroit from contending this season.

Detroit finished 26th in goals allowed and 16th in penalty killing. The Red Wings have big bodies and they need to play better defense in 2017-2018 if they expect to contend.

Draft Utopia Between The Pipes Goalie Tracker

Starting Goalie

Player	Team	Games Played	Record	Shutouts	Save Percentage	Goals Against Average
Jimmy Howard	Detroit Red Wings	24	10-11-11	1 Shutout	.928	2.10 GAA

Backup Goalie

Player	Team	Games Played	Record	Shutouts	Save Percentage	Goals Against Average
Peter Mrazek	Detroit Red Wings	44	18-21-9	1 Shutout	.901	3.04 GAA

Detroit Red Wings Goaltender Review Peter Mrazek failed to fill in for Jimmy Howard after showing so much promise a few years ago. While Mrazek may be the guy thats being groomed to be the goalie of the future, he did horrible when Howard went down posting a losing record in 44 starts. If Howard can stay healthy this season, Detroit has a chance to contend.

Detroit Red Wings Prospect Pool: Detroit is loaded with guys on the Grand Rapids Griffins who now have 2 Calder Cups in the last five years. You also got 2017 first round pick Michael Rasmussen who will be the team captain of the Tri-City Americans in the WHL as a future center that you can wait to develop while perfecting his game.

Detroit Red Wings 2017-2018 Prediction

Detroit was a team that I initially thought would return to the playoffs this season. After re-examining the defense, I am not as confident in that assessment. You also have to look at goalie being a huge issue if Jimmy Howard goes down again. He can be their best player when healthy, but his health was a huge issue last season. I'm gonna say Detroit misses the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and becomes a playoff team once Rasmussen arrives since this team has an extremely bright future with a lot of stability at forward right now.