In this episode of The Hockey Writers Grind Line, Detroit Red Wings writers Devin Little and Evan Sabourin get together with producer Matthew Zator to discuss their lines and defense pairings for opening night, potential surprises at training camp, players that have the most to prove this season, and more.
0:00 Intro
2:11 Projecting the Top-Six
6:28 Projecting the Top-Four Defence
14:39 Who do you think will surprise in training camp?
22:03 Biggest Concerns Heading Into 2024-25
27:14 Projecting the Bottom-Six
36:12 What player(s) have the most to prove this season?
43:49 Who could the Red Wings sign to a PTO?
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Devin Little – https://thehockeywriters.com/author/dlittle/
Evan Sabourin – https://thehockeywriters.com/author/esabourin/
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6 Comments
Great show as always.
So danielson almost made the team last year out of preseason. He has gotten so much better since then. What happens if danielson has a preseason equal or better then Raymond’s when he made the team? Is danielson now your 2c? Does veleno become a winger and berg not make the team?
Also I truly believe husso is bought out to make cap room for seider Raymond and berg contracts.
Can we stop with the typical 4th line role stereotype. A 3rd line is the new 4th line where it receives tough defensive matchups and a 4th line is now a place where teams shelter good offense/ bad defense forwards in low matchup minutes. Our expectations on Berggren need to change. His career is most likely headed towards being more of a Daniel Sprong on a 4th line than an Alex DeBrincat in the top 6.
So here's my hot take on line, flame away 😅
Cat – lark – kane
Razor – comp – berger
Copp – veleno – tarasenko
Ras – motte – fisher
Johanson – Mo
Edvinson – chiarot
Gus – holl
Roll the 3 lines and slot the 4th in when we need to shut lines down, top line speaks for itself, Razor can drive his own line and him and comp can cover berger, copp and veleno can cover tarasenko while providing offense/defense
As for young guys, I wouldn't let danielson play unless he plays 2nd center, drop comp to 3rd, veleno can rotate with motte, mazur and kasper as call ups to get the tasty cup of tea.
If we aren't close by deadline, sell off and get young guys in to just gain xp and level up 😅
Saying Seider is the player that has to prove more is crazy to me. He literally had the toughest usage in like the last 10 years and still got 40+ points. His rookie year his QoC (TOI against elite – TOI against grit) was 7%, had 45% OZ FOs and he had 217 minutes of PP time. This year his QoC was 30%, had a 38% OZ FO, and he had 177 mins of PP time. He is relied upon in the defensive zone so heavily that he isnt given a lot of offensive opporrunities. And all of this at age 22 with little to no help. Im not exactly sure what you want him to do.
I feel like Yzerman has done a poor job of creating roster spots for his draft picks. We keep signing aging veterans and being mid instead of letting the kids come up, learn, improve, and let them sink or swim.