Red Wings surprisingly demote top line forward ahead of facing the Blues Saturday
Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The Detroit Red Wings made a strange decision to demote a former top-line forward before their game against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Last night at Little Caesars Arena, the lineup of the Red Wings looked a bit different.
Todd McLellan decided to shift things around and, for some odd reason, had demoted former top-line forward Lucas Raymond.
Instead of playing on the same line as Dylan Larkin and Emmitt Finnie, his usual linemates, he played alongside Alex DeBrincat, with Marco Kasper to his left.
The demotion was sudden, as Raymond had just returned to the lineup after suffering an upper-body injury thanks to a hit from the Maple Leafs' Chris Tanev.
The Detroit Red Wings Demote Lucas Raymond
It seems that McLellan may be jumping the gun with a demotion so soon.
The former 1st-round pick has been a fixture on the top line with Dylan Larkin and arguably belongs there.
While Patrick Kane, Mason Appleton might fit in that role (second line) better than Raymond, in our opinion.
Appleton doesn't have the kind of skill or offensive prowess that could be unlocked by Larkin.
It seems like one big mistake by McLellan, in my opinion.
Raymond has been an 80-point player (27-53) in the past for the Red Wings, and deploying him in the wrong spot could upset the chemistry already developed beforehand.
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