DeKeyser Gets a Raise

In my post on Brendan Smith I mentioned that despite DK being hailed by many as the future of the Red Wing blue-line it was clear that at least statistically, Smith was the superior player. Yesterday Ken Holland and DeKeyser were finally able to reach a contract agreement, 2 years for an average cap hit of 2.1875 million dollars. DeKeyser gets a raise, the Red Wings keep him as an RFA when the contract ends and both sides get to see how he develops. While it seems a big win for everyone involved, after striking out in free agency DeKeyser needs to make a big leap next season. The question then becomes how far is DK from becoming the legit top 4 Dman the Red Wings need?

The Red Wings PP: No Righties Required

The other day Justin Bourne continued his excellent breakdown of each team's unique trait. His unique trait for the Red Wings was their extreme use of the slot to breakout, you can check that out here http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/56932. However, for this I’m going to use his breakdown of the Philadelphia Flyer’s elite power-play from last season. As you can see from the diagram he put up, the Flyers are in the perfect situation for a 1-3-1 power-play. With Claude Giroux as the primary puck handler, they have four elite scoring options.