Red Wings Trade Targets: Left Wing
Potential candidates to fill Detroit's need for a scoring line winger
Credit: Sportsnet.ca
This is a follow up to my previous article on defensemen who could be trade targets for Steve Yzerman. I’m basing these articles on the general manager’s comments earlier this summer that, while he didn’t expect to be able to fill key organizational needs via free agency, he was prepared to do so via trades. In my very long article on the state of the rebuild, I made the case that the Red Wings need to fill three holes in order for the rebuild to be considered complete:
Top 4 left-shooting defenseman
Top line left wing
Starting goaltender
The hope is the starting goaltender position has been addressed via trade when Yzerman acquired John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks back in June. Gibson ideally provides upper half of the league goaltender play until Sebastian Cossa and/or Trey Augustine can claim spots in the Detroit lineup.
In my article on defenders, I looked at eight rearguards who could potentially be available via trade at some point this season. Seven fit the stated goal of being top 4, left shooting defenders, while the other is a top 4 right shooting d-man. Today we’re looking at wingers generally, but more specifically top line left wingers as that’s the most obvious need for this current iteration of the Red Wings.
Detroit’s Current Scoring Line Forwards
Let’s start off by taking a look at what the Red Wings currently have in place on their top two scoring lines.
Scoring line centers
The Red Wings currently have two scoring line centers in Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper. Larkin is very well established with over 700 games played, nearly 600 points, and five 30-goal seasons in his career to date. He’s been Detroit’s first-line center since he turned 22.
Kasper had a very strong rookie campaign last year, scoring the same number of even strength goals as Macklin Celebrini, only one goal behind rookie leaders Cutter Gauthier and Matvei Michkov. He ranked first in total number of 5v5 goals and hits among rookie centers, and finished second to Macklin Celebrini among rookie centers for blocked shots. It would be a surprise if he isn’t the 2C for this upcoming season.
Scoring line right wings
Lucas Raymond is just entering his prime and provides elite play on the first line at the right wing spot. He led the league in point production for forwards under the age of 23, and finished fifth for goals scored.
Patrick Kane is nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career. He’s currently the right wing on the second line, playing alongside Marco Kasper and Alex DeBrincat. While he’ll need to be replaced at some point as Detroit’s contention window begins to open, he’s fine in this role for now as the Red Wings wait for a prospect - perhaps Michael Brandsegg-Nygård - to develop into a right wing scoring line contributor.
Lucas Raymond has the 1RW spot on lock, which makes acquiring the 2RW less of a priority.
Scoring line left wings
Alex DeBrincat is the sole proven entity on left wing. He’s played 600 career games, amassed over 250 career goals, and is firmly in his prime. He scored 40-ish goals in three seasons (two at 41, one at 39) and only has one season in his NHL career where he’s scored below 27 goals. Right now he’s a fixture on the second line, playing alongside Marco Kasper and his bestie Patrick Kane. While there’s the potential for DeBrincat to move up to the first line, for now he can be penciled in as the 2LW.
As we prepare for the start of training camp, there are currently no obvious choices for the 1LW spot alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Jonatan Berggren put up some solid offensive stats when he was placed on this line, but he’s not cut out for the heavy lifting this line does game in and game out over an 82 game season.
Free agent signing James van Riemsdyk can play up and down the lineup, but he’s not cut out to play heavy top line minutes at this stage of his career.
My darkhorse for the 1LW spot based on the current roster is Elmer Söderblom, as he has the requisite size, had a high percentage of defensive zone starts last season, and is at the stage of his career where he could develop into a pleasant surprise. Last season he played 67:30 with Larkin and Raymond and their zone starts were gnarly: they only took 29.79% of their faceoffs in the o-zone, but they still outscored the opposition by one goal. Larkin and Raymond routinely get the toughest matchups among Detroit’s current group of forwards, and there’s reason to believe Söderblom could hang with them as the primary option at 1LW.
So while my hope is Todd McLellan will give Elmer Söderblom a long look on the top line, Detroit could certainly use a plug and play, first line left wing. Get in line, I can hear fans across the league say, but we’re only talking about two positions at this point in the form of a top 4 defender and top line left wing as holes that weren’t filled through drafting and development and a few trades. That’s not bad considering where the NHL roster was back in 2019.
Only Larkin remains from this lineup that was iced shortly after Yzerman took over
