What the Kraken can learn from the struggles of the Detroit Red Wings in developing prospects

I was listening to a recent PDOCast episode (subscribe if you aren focusing on the Red Wings and I think there is a lot we as fans and the Kraken front office can learn from their issues this season. Episode link – https://www.sportsnet.ca/650/hockey-pdocast/lack-of-cohesion-in-detroit-and-the-elephant-in-the-room-in-dallas/

From 13:15 to 14:10, they talk about Detroit’s struggles in converting their plethora of recent draft picks into impact NHL players and how the Wings have made that more difficult on themselves due to signing a bunch of ok-but-not-great veterans. Here’s a quick transcript –

>… the past couple of years [Detroit has] gone out in free agency and spent a bunch of money on veterans who have been blocking a lot of these spots [for young players currently in the AHL], right? And it’s not just that they are spending salary on those players it’s that they are giving them term as well…

>Let’s take a David Perron for example, right? I like David Perron, he’s a good player. The issue is though is he’s good enough he’s going to block a young forward from from playing because they are probably not going to be better or more trusted by the coach than him right away. But also he’s not good enough where it’s going to make a big difference for the team moving forward, right? So you get into this awkward spot that a team like the Seattle Kraken has been in as well where you have a bunch of good NHL players but you’re not actually having a lot of difference makers, so how does a young player play over those guys so that he can potentially have a longer runway to provide that difference? They’ve sort of forced themselves into an awkward spot there…

The entire first half of the podcast about the Wings is worth listening to but I thought this was the most important to highlight. It’s very likely the Kraken could spend a bunch of money to get a top 6 veteran center who will be better than Shane Wright for next season. They could do the same for a defenseman better than Ryker Evans. But for the long-term success of the team, we have to be willing to let these guys have prominent NHL roles, make mistakes, learn, and grow into their full potential. This also means the Kraken have to be willing to let vets who’ve been good players walk to free agency to open up roster spots, rather than re-signing them especially with

That’s how you build a team that can be good for a decade, not a team that’s good for one or 2 seasons.

Letting Wennberg go was a good step in this direction. I’m mildly concerned about the Eberle re-signing, but at only 2 years I think it’s okay. I’m going to watch carefully if the Kraken re-sign a bunch of vets for the bottom 6 or leave a spot or 2 open for someone like Winterton to have a legit opportunity at 4C.

For reference, here’s the Wing’s CapFriendly page – https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/redwings. Notice how many guys in their late 20s and 30s they have signed long-term.

by SiccSemperTyrannis