Four Red Wings Which Are Holding Team Progression Back
Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The Steve Yzerman era of Red Wings hockey has been marred by mistake after mistake, and some of them remain on the roster to this day, including Vladimir Tarasenko and Justin Holl.
The Detroit Red Wings could improve their standings by using addition by subtraction.
The Yzerman-era of Red Wings hockey has been plagued by bargain bin acquisitions, which harm the team's viability down the stretch.
Four of them would be better off by being traded for assets in July, when it's time to optimize the roster for another year.
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Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Tarasenko is a former 50+ point player in the NHL. With two Stanley Cups to his name, you'd think he'd have done better than an 11-goal, 33-point season in Hockeytown.
Instead, neither Derek Lalonde nor Todd McLellan could tap into his potential as a top-six forward this season. He could be a bad system fit, or worse, just was having an off-year; either way, the team needs to find reliable forwards, and he isn't one of them.
Justin Holl
Holl is another one of Yzerman's busts. His tenure in Detroit has been marred by inconsistency, and his reputation in Toronto can't be lived down. He's a sixth defenseman who's been awarded over 14 TOI a night, showing that the team doesn't believe in his abilities.
Berggren is a pending RFA for the Red Wings. His career year in the NHL came in 2022-2023, with a total of 28 points, and he hasn't been able to exceed that during his more than gracious casting on the top line in Detroit. The former 33rd overall pick is nothing but a depth scorer.
They could move him out to a team that could use that kind of production and recoup their losses.
Gustafsson has failed to grab the brass ring and be a solid replacement for Shayne Gostisbehere.
Instead of bringing offense to the Red Wings' defensive core, he's only delivered 18 points this season. He could be an easy trade, considering other teams' need depth defenseman, and with Axel Sandin Pellika developing in Grand Rapids, maybe he could turn it around this season?
Either way, there could be potentially better options on the market when July rolls around. If I were Steve Yzerman, I'd shuffle off of Holl and Gustafsson and take calls on Berggren right away.
Honorable mentions: Ben Chiarot, he is another overpaid defenseman who leveraged a decent year with the Panthers into a job here in Detroit.
| POLL | ||
MAI 31 | 123 ANSWERS Four Red Wings Which Are Holding Team Progression Back If you were GM Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, who would you trade? | ||
| Jonatan Berggren | 16 | 13 % |
| Erik Gustafsson | 9 | 7.3 % |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | 56 | 45.5 % |
| Justin Holl | 42 | 34.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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