Detroit Red Wings Roster: Second Half Lessons

The Post Christmas Start

Pittsburgh did get off to a better start. The team would score two goals in the first 10:15 of the game. After two more goals scored by the Penguins, head coach Derek Lalonde pulled starting goalie Villie Husso in favor of Magnus Hellberg. This seemed to light a spark in the Red Wings roster. Detroit showed true grit and would go on to win the game by a score of five to four in overtime.

Under previous head coach Jeff Blashill, the Red Wings had a habit of falling behind and seemingly giving up. The tactic of Blashill starting one goaltender only to see him make a goalie change when the Red Wings would be down similar to a score like that of the game against the Penguins was a hindrance to Alex Nedeljkovic’s confidence. The same could be said for the entire Red Wings roster that Blashill was in charge of. If the recent game against the Penguins is any indication, the same cannot be said for Lalonde’s roster.

The second game of the Red Wings season post-Christmas break started in the same way. The Buffalo Sabres would score the first five goals of the game. Would the Red Wings roster be able to come back from four-plus goals a second night in a row? The answer would be no. That is not to say that their play would not pick up in the third period. The problem is that the Red Wings ran out of time in the third period despite scoring three goals.

Reinforcements Coming

The Red Wings roster will have several players return to their lineup in the time coming. These players will take time to return to their form and adjust to Lalonde"s system. These returns come as the NHL’s trade deadline, on March 3^rd, nears. If the team is not able to play at this level and they are not in a playoff position as this deadline approaches, general manager Steve Yzerman should look at trading the players that are unrestricted free agents in order to get something for a player before he walks for nothing.

Lalonde was quoted recently as pointing out that the Red Wings have not a full roster yet this season. Tyler Bertuzzi has missed the bulk of the 2022-23 season with multiple hand injuries. However, Bertuzzi could return to the Red Wings lineup soon. These are the latest in a long line of injuries that Bertuzzi has had. At 27 years old Bertuzzi will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Yzerman and Bertuzzi have had difficult contract negotiations in the past.

Jakub Vrana recently exited the NHL’s player assistance program. Lalonde said that Vrana will have a conditioning stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins that began last night. In a recent interview with the Associated Press Vrana opened up about his time in the Player Assistance Program. "There’s bigger things than hockey in life and you have to get it in order. You have to make some decisions that are important in your life and then hockey."

Robby Fabbri will also return to the Red Wings roster soon. Fabbri has missed the entire 2022-23 season so far as he tore his right ACL in March. This was not the first time that Fabbri has suffered this injury. The blessing, if you can call an injury that, was that this most recent ACL tear was in the left knee from the one when he played for the St. Louis Blues. The question for Lalonde is where Vrana and Fabbri slot into the lineup when they return.

Red Wings Roster Questions Coming

The lineup decisions come down to whether or not Lalonde feels that rookie Jonatan Berggren deserves a roster spot. The Uppsala, Sweden native has proven that he is too talented for the AHL. The most likely candidate to lose a roster spot is Adam Erne. Erne’s role on this Red Wings roster is limited. This is despite his popularity with the fanbase. If this happens, Filip Zadina and Pius Suter would both have to clear waivers in order to make it to the Red Wings roster.

The Red Wings have 48 games remaining in the 2022-23 season. This is plenty of time to define who they want to be under Lalonde. The head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning Jon Cooper said that he sees the Lightning’s playing style baked into this version of the Red Wings. The Red Wings defeated Cooper’s Lightning by a score of seven to four prior to the break. The team still has a long way to go before they are contending for a playoff spot, let alone winning two of the last three Stanley Cups.

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