A bright spot for Red Wings was 40-goal scorer’s return to form..
DETROIT – Alex DeBrincat might not reach the 40-goal mark, but he is back to the 40-goal form the Detroit Red Wings were seeking when they acquired him nearly two years ago.
He has 36 goals with three games remaining, including tonight’s home finale vs. Dallas (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Extra, NHL Network), after scoring 27 in each of the previous two seasons with Detroit and Ottawa.
2 Red Wings players no longer worth defending as season winds down..
Despite the horrific, bad, to worse, to terrible 2024-25 campaign from the Red Wings, there’s no denying how good their core is. And this article, even if it’s every bit as harsh in tone as some of the others I’ve written that have just criticized this team lately, isn’t about them.
Give that core proper guidance with another seasoned veteran or two who can perform well regularly, and you’ll see a much better team on the ice in 2025-26. That means the playoff drought shouldn’t hit the one-decade mark. But, general manager Steve Yzerman must do his due diligence and acknowledge the fact that he shouldn’t like his team as-is.
So, there are two players on this roster who need to go to the wayside, where fans can forget they ever wore the winged wheel. At least two, really. But let’s talk about the worst of the worst and why I’d like to see them playing for a rebuilding team next season.
Vladimir Tarasenko
No, Vladimir Tarasenko probably wouldn’t want to deal with a full-on rebuild. I can see him going to a team that may need one more winger, preferably a veteran, who can guide them. And yep, in case you didn’t already figure it out, I’m talking about the St. Louis Blues. Big surprise, right?
Anyway, the Vladimir Tarasenko experience in Hockeytown must end the second Steve Yzerman sees a chance to move him. Tarasenko is eighth in points on the team as the year winds down, having snagged 31 in 77 games. But he’s got just 10 goals and a 7.8 shooting percentage to boast.
Yeah, that’s not what Yzerman was thinking when he brought the seasoned veteran into Hockeytown. In fact, I wouldn’t even mind seeing Tarasenko go elsewhere just so Yzerman can make room for another prospect getting ready to rise through the ranks while picking up a reliable veteran.
Erik Gustafsson
Wow, this one was a disaster. While I never seriously saw Erik Gustafsson as Shayne Gostisbehere’s replacement, I expected more serviceable play from someone who could act as a stopgap. Unfortunately, Gustafsson couldn’t even do that.
Fast-forward 60 games, and he’s got two goals and 18 points on the season, a far cry from the two-way potential he’s shown in the past. It’s also pretty bad when you have the worst rating on the team at minus-19 while having played in fewer games than most of your teammates. Oh, and for the record, Tarasenko has the second-worst rating at minus-16.
Overall, it was nothing short of an awful showing from Gustafsson, who looked lost half the time when he was on the ice. These are a pair of players nobody in the Red Wings fandom will miss once Steve Yzerman makes the right move and cuts ties with them.
As to where Gustafsson could end up, it’ll surely be with the next team in a full-on rebuild. There isn’t a contender out there who would want to deal with him following what was an ultra-lackluster year.
Analyst Calls For Red Wings to Acquire $92 Million Star Defenseman in Offseason..
The Detroit Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the ninth straight year and will likely be active in the offseason looking to improve their roster.
Detroit has some needs on defense, and NHL analyst Marco Rubin on FanSided believes the Red Wings should trade for Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“The Red Wings could use a defenseman. If they decide to go in on one, someone of Karlsson’s caliber could be a fit. Cap space is not a problem,” Rubin wrote. “They could take on his contract without needing Pittsburgh to retain any, although it would still be wise to negotiate them retaining some.
“The Red Wings are a bubble playoff team, not a true Cup contender. This would be a consideration for Karlsson when deciding whether or not to waive his no-movement clause. Playing in Detroit would get him closer to the Cup than he is in Pittsburgh, but is it close enough? Karlsson would have the final say,” Rubin added.
The Swede would add much-needed offense to the Red Wings’ blue line and give Detroit another weapon alongside Moritz Seider on the blue.
Karlsson has two years left on his eight-year, $92 million deal and is set to earn $11.5 million per season. Due to his contract, it likely won’t cost a lot to acquire the defenseman, and Detroit has ample cap room and prospects and picks to make a trade with the Penguins happen.
Red Wings Fail to Make Playoffs
Detroit was in the playoff chase but struggled in the second-half to miss the postseason again.
It was a disappointing year for the team, and captain Dylan Larkin says the year was frustrating for everyone.
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