Detroit Red Wings midseason grades: Offense gets high marks. Defense? Not so much.
At the midpoint of their season, the Detroit Red Wings were on pace to reach 90 points, which doesn't project to be enough to quality for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
"You'd like to upgrade that to be in the mid-90s, maybe 100," coach Derek Lalonde said. "But we’re improving defensively. It’s not a knock on our team, just the way we’re built. We’ve improved offensively a ton from last year, but we are going to have to continue to grow defensively to give ourselves a chance, especially in the second half of the year."
The Wings entered Saturday at 20-16-5 and scoring 3.51 goals a game, ranking seventh. Unfortunately for their bottom line, they were also giving up 3.39 goals per game, eighth-most in the league.
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"The first 25 games I thought we were really getting towards an identity," defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "We were a tough team to play against, responsible defensively, and I think when we have that mindset, instead of just focusing on defense first, we’ve got enough talent in here that can score and create offense. Having a good defensive conscience is probably what we would want to get to, identity-wise."
General manager Steve Yzerman has made multiple additions to the team, including Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Daniel Sprong and Shayne Gostisbehere. Their offensive skills have made the team more fun to watch, but it's jarring to watch some of the defensive lapses — a recent example was letting Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras score from just outside Detroit's net without a single defender on him. Plays like that have happened too often through the first half, and that's a regression from last season.
"On the whole, we haven't been as good," Lalonde said. "But of late, much better. It has to continue to grow. We have some guys that want to make plays, and we need them to make plays — that’s our fourth line, that’s our third line, that’s our second line, it’s our top line. But it’s just managing it correctly, and I think we’ve done a better job of late, and we’ve been rewarded."
Here are the Free Press' grades for the first half of the season.
(All stats entering Saturday.)
D Ben Chiarot: B
Stats: 3 goals, 8 assists, even rating in 41 games.
Signed through: 2025-26 with a $4.75 million salary cap hit.
The buzz: Brings a heavy presence to the lineup and has cleaned up some of the more egregious mistakes that marred his performances last season.
F J.T. Compher: B
Stats: 9 goals, 15 assists, minus-3 rating in 36 games.
Signed through: 2027-28 , $5.1 million.
The buzz: In his first year with the team, he's on pace to top, as expected, 50 points for a second straight season. Pretty solid overall in his defensive game.
F Andrew Copp: C
Stats: 6 goals, 13 assists, minus-3 in 40 games.
Signed through: 2026-27, $5.625 million.
The buzz: His strength is as a two-way player, but he's not producing the expected offense — he just went through a two-month stretch without a goal.
F Alex DeBrincat: A
Stats: 17 goals, 21 assists, even rating in 41 games.
Signed through: 2026-27, $7.875 million.
The buzz: Joining a new team, he has made an impact right away. Consistently a threat to score, able to find openings and get his shot off quickly.
F Robby Fabbri: B
Stats: 11 goals, 7 assists, minus-4 rating in 29 games.
Signed through: 2024-25, $4 million.
The buzz: Injured in the opener and missed nearly a month. Returned to lineup and posted six goals in eight games, then cooled off. Works hard and isn't shy around the net, but consistency isn't where it needs to be.
F Christian Fischer: B-
Stats: 2 goals, 6 assists, plus-4 rating in 38 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $1.125 million.
The buzz: Brings energy, kills penalties, adds a bit of offense now and then. He was the one who challenged and fought Mathieu Joseph after Dylan Larkin's on-ice knockout Dec. 9. Solid character guy.
D Shayne Gostisbehere: B
Stats: 7 goals, 21 assists, minus-16 in 40 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $4.125 million.
The buzz: His plus-minus is ugly, but he was brought in to boost the offense, and that he has done. Consistently a threat to get his shot through and good at hustling to retrieve pucks. Leads the team with 16 power play points.
D Justin Holl: C
Stats: 5 assists, plus-3 rating in 27 games.
Signed through: 2025-26, $3.4 million.
The buzz: He's the defenseman who has been scratched the most, and plays third-pairing minutes when in the lineup. Doesn't see top matchups, but he is a plus player.
G Ville Husso: C-
Stats: 9-5-2, 3.53 goals-against average, .893 save percentage.
Signed through: 2024-25, $4.75 million.
The buzz: He's had stretches of excellence within games, but on the whole, his first half — before he suffered a lower-body injury Dec. 18 — was marked by struggles. He has started skating on his own, but remains in the week-to-week range. The Wings have to hope the rest will help Husso rebound.
F Patrick Kane: A
Stats: 6 goals, 8 assists, minus-4 rating in 17 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $2.75 million.
The buzz: He has made coming back from invasive hip surgery, at age 35, look easy. Such an intelligent player, a master at hanging on to the puck. Has the third-best points-per-game average (0.82) among Wings.
F Klim Kostin: D
Stats: 2 goals, 1 assist, plus-2 in 23 games.
Signed through: 2024-25, $2 million.
The buzz: His one fight was answering a challenge from Columbus' Erik Gudbranson. Kostin's pursuit of Chicago's Connor Murphy for a clean check on Andrew Copp left the Wings having to kill a penalty. Kostin's decision to interfere with Anaheim's goalie Dec. 18 also left the Wings shorthanded, and left Kostin (6 feet 4, 232 pounds) sidelined with an upper-body injury after Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas (6-0, 208) knocked him down in return.
F Dylan Larkin: A
Stats: 14 goals, 20 assists, minus-3 rating in 35 games.
Signed through: 2030-31, $8.7 million.
The buzz: Leads his team at 0.97 points per game. Other than a five-game stretch in mid-November, he's been a consistent producer. Endured a scare when he lost consciousness during the Dec. 9 game, and needed a few games to regain his timing.
G Alex Lyon: A-
Stats: 8-4-1, 2.54 GAA, .922 save percentage.
Signed through: 2024-25, $900,000.
The buzz: He's been a great story this season, from waiting patiently for a chance the first five weeks to taking over the No. 1 spot. A career minor-leaguer, the 31-year-old will soon pass his previous high of 15 NHL games in one season, so the onus is on him to show he can carry a bigger load. He has been the team's MVP since the trip to Sweden.
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D Olli Määttä: B
Stats: 2 goals, 7 assists, plus-7 in 33 games.
Signed through: 2024-25, $3 million.
The buzz: His value is in playing a smart, simple game, but he has an offensive touch that comes out when possible. Doesn't see top matchups, but he's good in the role he gets.
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F David Perron: C+
Stats: 9 goals, 8 assists, minus-9 rating in 35 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $4.75 million.
The buzz: He plays with a lot of energy, but sometimes that leads to taking bad penalties, as he leads the team with 35 penalty minutes. Good around the net and on the power play.
D Jeff Petry: C+
Stats: 2 goals, 9 assists, plus-1 in 32 games.
Signed through: 2024-25, $2,343,750.
The buzz: Has been better of late after a mediocre start marred by bad penalties. Has played a bigger role on the penalty kill than the power play, surprisingly.
F Michael Rasmussen: B-
Stats: 9 goals, 8 assists, plus-8 in 41 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $1.46 million.
The buzz: He hasn't been as strong in all phases as he was last season, but he delivers a pretty consistent effort and is good on the penalty kill.
F Lucas Raymond: B+
Stats: 11 goals, 22 assists, minus-13 in 41 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $925,000.
The buzz: He's on pace for 66 points, which would be a career high, and leads the team with two overtime goals. His power play production (two goals, seven assists) is a bit low considering he averages around 3 minutes of man-advantage time, and he needs to improve his defensive game.
G James Reimer: D
Stats: 3-6-2, 3.41 GAA, .889 save percentage.
Signed through: 2023-245, $1.5 million.
The buzz: Had a brief good spell to start the season, but since then his starts have been marred by soft goals.
D Moritz Seider: A-
Stats: 5 goals, 18 assists, plus-1 in games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $863,333.
The buzz: He faces every opponent's top line, so to be a plus player is to his credit. Averages north of 22 minutes per game, most on the team, and nearly 3 minutes of that is spent killing penalties. The Wings ask a lot of the 22-year-old, and he mostly delivers.
F Daniel Sprong: A-
Stats: 10 goals, 16 assists, plus-3 in 41 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $2 million.
The buzz: His 26 points rank fifth on the team, despite averaging less than 13 minutes per game. Plays hard, is physical, takes the shot at every opportunity — he has brought a terrific return on a low-risk investment.
F Joe Veleno: B
Stats: 8 goals, 8 assists, minus-10 in 39 games.
Signed through: 2023-24, $825,000.
The buzz: He's on pace for 32 points, which would be a career high, but the defensive side needs work. Does what he can mostly as the fourth-line center and consistently works hard.
D Jake Walman: B
Stats: 9 goals, 8 assists, plus-2 in 38 games.
Signed through: 2025-26, $3.4 million.
The buzz: Hasn't stood out as much as he did last season, but he partners well with Seider and leads the team with 110 blocked shots.
Coaching staff: B-
Derek Lalonde and associate coaches Alex Tanguay (offense, power play) and Bob Boughner (defense, penalty kill) lead a staff that has a much more talented roster this season, but the defensive structure is an issue. Although better of late, it needs to improve significantly as games get tighter with playoff positioning on the line.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane grade out well
