Detroit Red Wings management calls out J.T Compher ahead of NHL season
Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Todd McLellan called out forward JT Compher for his lack of aggression on the ice.
JT Compher is a name we've heard recently, as he's been named in trade rumors. But his declining production is another issue that the Detroit Red Wings have had to deal with, and what Todd McLellan hopes to head off at the beginning of the year.
Todd McLellan had strong words for his disappointing performance last season:
«J.T. is leading on the ice, leading the charges rather than blending into them, or coming from behind,» McLellan said. «He'll know exactly what that means. If he's sometimes first on the forecheck or he's aggressive and leading the zone and joining the rush, he can't let everything go by him and then join. I call that just playing in the middle of the rink all the time, and you're generally safe there, but we need him to be assertive.»
Compher has the kind of skills that McLellan needs to put the team on the right path, as a defensive, forechecking player. But the head coach hasn't seen that kind of responsible play out of him.
«I thought later in the year, he started to do those things,» McLellan said. «Can't ride the brake all the time, and J.T., when he got on the gas, he was a pretty good player.»
JT Compher's 2025-26 Season: Make Or Break?
Compher is handsomely paid for the kind of player he is, a depth 3C who plays a primarily defensive role in the lineup. For the former Stanley Cup winner, that is pinning down teams in their zone and maintaining possession of the puck.
For McLellan, the focal point of his criticism is seeing aggressiveness on the puck on the ice.
«But there isn't any type of stat pack that comes out for defensive kills or plays around the net that he just happens to break up,» McLellan added. «And he's very good at that as well. So we recognize it all the time.»
His lack of production isn't exactly an indicator of his slack on the ice, but websites like Natural Stat Trick track this kind of statistic.
For example, XGF% gives you an idea of what offense can happen on the ice when a certain play is involved.
In 76 games with the Red Wings last season, he scored 32 points (11-21). His XGF is 34.76%
is a stat where we use shot quality to determine which team is expected to score more goals when a certain player is one the ice by looking at the difference between expected goals for (xGF) and expected goals against (xGA). If a Chicago players. xGF% is ABOVE 50%, Chicago was expected to out score opponents when he was on the ice. If a Chicago players xGF% is BELOW 50%, Chicago was expected to BE out scored by opponents when he was on the ice. So above 50% = good Below 50% = bad.
Compher and his linemates were unable to control the ice, and as a result, in 2024-25, the team gave up too many opportunities on the ice to their opponents.
It showed last season, as the Red Wings, and Compher wasn't playing up to expectations.
This season is another chance for the team and the forward to right the wrongs of last year.
