It’s time for Red Wings to throttle up on the Yzerplan and make some additions

Nobody has been more critical of the ‘Yzerplan’ than yours truly. Specifically after last season’s trade deadline, I was very vocal about my skepticism surrounding Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s vision six years into his tenure steering the ship in the motor city. 

They’re coming off a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and tied for second place in the Eastern Conference, and the question needs to be asked: are the Red Wings for real?

Per moneypuck.com, the Red Wings are not world beaters analytically, ranking 20th in expected goals percentage. There is some validity to the idea this level of play may be unsustainable. While they are more or less an average team offensively as far as the metrics, they rank in the bottom half of the league in expected goals against per 60.

The crazy thing is, this isn’t a scenario where the Red Wings are being bailed out by all-world goaltending or anything of that nature. Both John Gibson and Cam Talbot sport save percentages fo less than .900 and neither ranks near the top of the league as far as the underlying numbers are concerned. So while the Red Wings are heavily average as far as their numbers go under the hood, their goaltending is by no means carrying them, though Gibson has been quite good since the start of December.

Additionally, the Red Wings are not benefiting from an ungodly shooting percentage, either. According to money puck, they rank 29th in the nhl at even strength shooting percentage. So despite being “mid” or lower in almost every analytical category, the Red Wings are still finding ways to rack up victories and maintain their place atop the Eastern Conference. So what really is the secret sauce in Detroit? 

It obviously is not this simple, but Detroit has been doing a lot of damage on the power play. As of Friday morning, the Red Wings rank sixth in the NHL on the man advantage, operating at a 24.8% clip. Their leading point getter, Lucas Raymond, has seen 19 of his 47 points come on the PP this season, good for 11th in the NHL. 

I have never been one to subscribe to the belief that PP points count less or mean something “bad” as some do. Points are points, which oftentimes equate to wins – like what is happening for Detroit. But what does it tell us that the Red Wings’ even strength underlying numbers are so average and the power play is arguably the team’s biggest driving force? 

While Raymond leads the team with 47 points, Alex DeBrincat is a close second with 43 while Dylan Larkin ranks third with 40. After that the dropoff is rather a steep one to the next closest forward, which is Patrick Kane with 26 (albeit in 30 games). Looking at the Red Wings’ depth chart, head coach Todd McLellan has his top three scoring forwards spread out evenly on separate lines in his top-nine forward group. 

Kane’s point production is certainly more significant than the raw total he’s produced if we look at points per game. But even if we are to take that into account, it is clear that the Red Wings’ offensive depth is something to be a little concerned about. After Kane, Andrew Copp is the top point-getting forward with 24.

If Yzerman really wants to make this season count and turn a corner by qualifying for the playoffs, I’d say adding a top-six left wing to help out at even strength would be at the top of my to do list. With DeBrincat, Raymond and Kane playing further down the line up, finding a scoring threat to play alongside Larkin is something I would consider to be paramount. 

On the back-end, a right-shot, top four defenseman is a necessity if Yzerman truly wants to not only make the playoffs – but also be a legitimate threat in them. The options are obviously few and far between for available right-shot rearguards, but Philadelphia Flyers defender Rasmus Ristolainen would fit the bill as to what Detroit needs, as would the Calgary Flames’ Rasmus Andersson. This type of addition would increase the 5v5 numbers by insulating franchise defenseman Moritz Seider and alleviating pressure off of rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

Ristolainen has one year beyond this season remaining on his contract with an AAV of $5.1 million, while Andersson is a pending UFA.

The Red Wings have had a great season, but there are still warts to their game and things to be improved upon. If Yzerman is serious about this season being different, it would behoove him to address the aforementioned areas to his roster.