Development & Depth: The Future of the Wings

The incredible ability of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Kronwall to maintain a high level of play led the Red Wings into a crossroads. With limited time before the inevitable decline, the Wings were torn between making one last run with their stars and committing to the reload. However, the expected hiring of Jeff Blashill has forced the organization down the path of rebuilding and development. Now we will learn if the young guns are able to fill the aging stars’ shoes or if the Euro twin’s decline will be too much to overcome?

Holland’s long-term view was consistently in conflict with Babcock’s insane desire to win every game. With Babcock behind the bench, young players’ development was secondary to winning individual games. This strategy was detrimental for players such as Kindl, Smith or even Pulkkinen, who need to make mistakes in the NHL to fully develop. Thus, while Babcock is the best coach to get one last run out of stars, he is ill-suited to lead the transition into a new era of Red Wing hockey.

With Blashill we can expect that the team will enter next season with development as their primary goal. The rookie head coach will have some growing pains as he learns the ropes in the NHL and I expect he will give more opportunities to young players. These moves may hurt the team in the short run and could potentially end the playoff streak. While it may be difficult to watch I believe that this is necessary if the Red Wings hope to become Stanley Cup contenders.

When Babcock arrived, Datsyuk and Zetterberg had already replaced the previous generation of Red Wings stars. Unlike the past generation there is no current player ready to replace Datsyuk and Zetterberg. While Nyquist and Tatar are great players they are a step below that elite status, and it is far to early to make claims regarding Mantha or even Larkin. Without a superstar to replace the Euro twins, development of our prospects is a necessity.

With proper development, the Wings could eventually ice a lineup with at least 7 above average scoring forwards (Tatar, Nyquist, Sheahan, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Larkin and Mantha) and 5 elite depth forwards (Glendening, Ferraro, Bertuzzi, Athanasiou, and Nastasiuk). On the defensive end, DeKeyser will lead a d-core with an improved Smith, Ouellet, Marchenko and potentially Hicketts in front of starter Petr Mrazek. Without the superstars of past generations, the team’s only hope of success is through wearing down the opposition with depth. With an abundance of talent throughout the lineup, they can overwhelm the star heavy opposition.

The Red Wings will probably never get the luck or lottery picks necessary to replace the current superstars. Nevertheless, increased attention to development provides the opportunity for the team to continue their impressive run of success. By properly utilizing the impressive collection prospects, the team may be able to change course and continue the Red Wing dynasty for at least one more generation.