Another First Round Flat Tire for the Winged Wheel

For the fourth year in a row, the Detroit Red Wings have ended their season in the same fashion - with a disappointing 1st round exit, not even pushing it to 7 games before bowing out meekly.

What the heck is wrong with this crazy team? 

The Red Wings went into the playoffs as the #3 team in the Eastern Conference and league with 110 points, a 52-24-6 record, and a +40 goal differential. From a regular season point of view, this was the franchise’s best season yet – but it still ended in a game 6 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

A heroic game 1 victory that saw Elias Lindholm and Frederick Gaudreau both score in the final 10 seconds of the game to steal a 5-4 victory would not be a sign of things to come. The Red Wings won again in game 2 but lost the next four straight after seeing their offense go cold, and Tristan Jarry struggle to keep the puck out of the net.

The Red Wings were without top deadline acquisition Robert Thomas for the duration of the playoffs, after tearing his MCL in his first game with the team – an unfortunate loss for a Red Wings team that avoided the injury big for much of the season.

At his season-ending press conference back in early May, GM Evans had the following to say: “This is, obviously, not the result we were going for. I expected a deep playoff run this year, and I will do my best to make that a reality next season. I can’t believe we’ve lost four straight playoff series. Needless to say, there will be some level of roster turnover as we work towards our goal of a 2024 MRFHL championship. We did not get beat by a better team – we just choked this year.”

“The one silver lining here, is that we are set to have a damn good team again next year. McDavid is at his peak. We have two top rookies in Johnston and Sanderson joining the team next year, likely two or three more on the way next season with Edvinsson, Wolf, and Luke Hughes, and a strong group of young guys emerging from the farm in Kakko, Cozens, Byfield, Moser, and Morgan Barron. All of these incoming players will result in some natural turnover, pushing some existing players out of their spots, and of course I’m always looking to improve this team via trade and free agency. We have a large RFA group, and we go into this year’s draft with two 1^st round picks so the next couple months should be interesting.”

Fast-forward just over a month, and GM Evans has already been active on the trade market. So far two trades have been struck: the first sending Alex Carrier to Columbus for Morgan Geekie, and the second sending Joe Pavelski’s UFA rights to the division rival Bruins along with defenseman Dysin Mayo for rookie defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic and 2024 BOS 4^th.

GM Evans: “Geekie is a player I’ve always liked. He’s a big body for the bottom six that can defend and chip in some scoring. I think he fits in great with our current bottom six forward group – Jenner, Freddy Gaudreau, Paul, Barron, Johnston, Byfield, Kakko, and Cole Smith. It’s a bit crowded but adding Morgan gives us options.

“It’s tough to see Pavelski go – he was incredible for us all year – but we just weren’t going to be able to bring both him and Justin Faulk back, and we’re already so crowded up front. This deal gives us a good young defenseman who can fill a role right away and help our cap situation for next season, which will be tight. At least we can confidently sign Faulk now.”

Editor's note: a few minutes after publication a third trade was struck sending Mikey Eyssimont to Winnipeg for 2023 WPG 4th and 6th round picks.

In the RFA department: the Wings have managed to lock up Svechnikov to a 4 year 7M extension that will expire when he’s in his final RFA season, Robert Thomas has been extended for 1 year at 6.2M, Kakko has been extended for 3 years at 3.3M, and talks are ongoing with Meier, the recently acquired Geekie, and the several RFA’s playing for Grand Rapids – Frank, Halonen, Holm, Patera, and Murray.

With several more RFA’s to sign including a pretty critical one in Meier, a glut of forwards to deal with, a big UFA to re-sign in Faulk, and the draft rapidly approaching it is sure to be a busy offseason in Detroit.

-Detroit Free Press
June 15, 2023

Red Wings Pro Roster:

Meier                 McDavid                          Thomas
Cozens                E Lindholm                       A Svechnikov
Jenner                F Gaudreau                      Hertl
Byfield                Paul                                  Kakko
Extras: Johnston, M Barron, M Geekie, Di Giuseppe, Cole Smith, Eyssimont
(Note: Ehlers not included; currently on roster but likely to be traded)

Heiskanen          Burns
Moser                 Sanderson
Kovacevic           Irwin
Extras: None
(Note: Faulk has the potential to be brough back as well)

Jarry
Ingram
Extras: Patera, Murray, Holm