2023-2024 Wings Sensible Predictions

[The Zermanator]

We’ve got our bold predictions thread. How about some sensible predictions? What do you think will realistically happen with the team and players this year?

Some of mine:
- Larkin has been at or near PPG playing on an awful team with minimal support. With a halfway decent supporting cast, a top flight goalscorer, and an overall stronger system his scoring will see a bump. Barring injury, he’ll get 90+ points.
- Seider similarly benefits (plus having a whole season away from Chiarot ), and we see him bounce back to 55-60 points while still being a 200ft force of nature.
- Raymond will benefit from reduced pressure because there are now more players opposing teams need to look out for. If he ends up playing with Larkin and Debrincat he’ll have more space to work with than he’s gotten used to. Back to 60+ points for him and we’ll see where his ceiling ultimately is in the years to come.
- Perron mostly stays the same but sees some reduced playing time especially in more prime opportunities like PPs so regresses a bit in points. 40+.
- Compher and Copp are reliable for what they are and bring. They’ll both be very valuable defensively and put up roughly 45 and 40 points, respectively.
- Edvinsson misses camp due to recovery and starts the season in GR. Forces his way onto the Wings roster around the midway point of the season. While I don’t think he’ll explode onto the scene as a top pair D like Seider did, I think he’ll similarly cement himself early and never look back. Starts with a more limited role but finishes the season as the 3rd best D on the team.
- A healthy Rasmussen continues where he left off and finally has a breakout season, providing physicality and intensity and putting up 50 points.
- Fabbri gets injured at some point and misses a majority of the season.
- Berggren cements himself as an NHL regular and puts up between 45-50 points.

Click to read more...

 

[odin1981]

We improve but only a little and finish with a 11 to 15th pick in the first round.

 

[Henkka]

Larkin stays as, Dylan Larkin. Will do a bit better thanks to DeBrincat on his wing. Will play more without Raymond dragging him down. Larkin has scored 0.98 and 0.99 points per game seasons as his last 2 season.

1. Larkin will have his best NHL season, playing all 82 games and scoring 85 points (1.04 points per game)
82 games, 36 + 49 = 85p.

DeBrincat will rebound a bit. He is not as good as he was with Kane at Chicago, when playing all-offence game to push his trade value up. Now the team structure is more defensive, but he will have a better season than he had at Ottawa.

2. DeBrincat will never be a 40-goal scorer at Detroit, but still a pretty damn good scorer.,
82 games, 34 + 38 = 72p. (0.88 points per game)

David Perron will still surprise people last time on his last legs. He will play 81 games, and a lot on the top line with Larkin and DeBrincat. Will score 62 points, keeping his last 2-season points per game -rate (0.76).

3. Perron
81 games, 28+34 = 62 points (0.76 points per game)

Lucas Raymond will improve a bit, and will have his best career season, scoring 60 points in 78 games. Career-high points per game with 0.77. Will be ready to take the 1st line spot from leaving Perron on next season.

4. Raymond
78 games, 24+36 = 60 points (0.77 points per game)

Andrew Copp will rebound a bit after getting a healthy pre-season. Will be rock solid on faceoff circle with Larkin and the man to face on every defensive end duties and offensive end dirty duties.

5. Copp
77 games, 15+33 = 48 points (0.62 points per game)

JT Compher will come in as a defensive center, but will be part of the second best offensive line.

6. Compher
76 games, 18+25 = 43 points (0.57 points per game)

Daniel Sprong will keep his small-minute role, but also keeps high-scoring rate per ice-time. Jonathan Berggren will feed him to 20 goals. A bargain for 2M, and Yzerman will extend him for 2 years.

7. Sprong
74 games, 20+18 = 38 points. (0.51 points per game)

Berggren will improve a bit from last season (ppg from 0.42 --> to 0.50), and will go more assist-heavy, thanks to Sprong to feed.

8. Berggren
72 games, 14+22 = 36 points. (0.50 points per game)

Robby Fabbri has been able to play 41 games until trade deadline, and has scored Team Top6 best at 0.55 points per game. Yzerman will trade him and Elmer Söderblom will take his spot.

9. Fabbri
41 games, 12+11=23 points. (0.56 per game)

Rasmussen will be slot to checking line, and his main job is to prevent points and going hard on opposite players. He will have a great season as neutralizing opponents and his season is not count on point totals.

10. Rasmussen
66 games, 13+15 = 28 points. (0.41 points per game)

Klim Kostin will bang people on the boards with Rasmussen on that dirty cheking line. This will be Red Wings most entertaining line and people at LCA will absolutely LOVE IT.

11. Kostin
72 games, 11+11 = 22 points (0.31 points per game)

Same with Fischer. He'll go to defensive line, to hurt people, and will have all-defensive role as 1st PK guy.

12. Fischer
67 games, 10+9 = 19 points (0.28 per game)

------------------------------

There's the Top12 offence.

But there will be injuries and rotation.

From LW-spot, Berggren and Kostin will both miss 10 games, and Fabbri will be traded after completing 41 games. Rasmussen will play 10 games as LW. That will leave 52 games for Elmer Söderblom.

13. Söderblom
52 games, 12+8 = 20 points (0.38 per game)

Copp and Compher missing 5 + 6 games, and Rasmussen missing 16 games, and playing 10 as LW, there's 37 games for extra Center.

Marco Kasper will play 9 games. Does good grinding work at defensive role.

14. Kasper
9 games, 1+2 = 3 points (0.33 ppg)

There's 28 RW games missing from Perron, Raymond, Sprong and Fischer. Carter Mazur will be called up, and he will surprise people by scoring 0.50 points per game. Veleno will play 10 games also as RW. After the NHL season, Mazur will go back to AHL and will win both Calder Cup and Calder Cup MVP Trophy.

15. RW Mazur
18 games, 4+5 = 9 points (0.50 ppg)

Joe Veleno will play rest of the center games and some RW games, He will be outplayed by both Kasper and Mazur.

16. Veleno
38 games, 5+6 = 11 points (0.29 points per game)

 

[jaster]

Hanas has a real nice AHL season.

 

[SimonEdvinssonAtSix]

Kostin elevates his game with more ice time and becomes a fan favorite.

 

[PelagicJoe]

We improve but only a little and finish with a 11 to 15th pick in the first round.

I came here to say the same thing. We will have a better year, but not by a whole lot. We will score more goals at least.

 

[Frk It]

-Larkin posts a career best in points and +/-
-Walman posts more points this year than he has so far in his career (30)
-Ghost and Seider both finish top 25 in scoring among defenseman
-Our power play is a top 15 unit league wide
-Copp and Compher as our 2/3C makes us a better team this year and people come around on both
-Sprong is a healthy scratch at least once

 

[Electric Eric]

- Fabbri gets injured at some point and misses a majority of the season.

Thats a cheat code and shouldnt count.

 

[Retire91]

We do not make the playoffs by 6 points
Larkin improves with better talent on his wings and there are 8 threads at different times in the season about how Larkin is a true number 1 and 17 threads that were not about Larkin that turn into Larkin is a number 1 threads.
We begin to see a recognizable level of talent start to blossom that makes us remember oh this was what it felt like to be competitive
Compher, Kostin, DeBrincat gel with the team so well it's almost like they have always been here
Fans want Gostisbehere gone before the end of the season

 

[Mister Ed]

Fun ones :
95 point season incoming for the Red Wings and for Dylan Larkin.
Husso / Lyon is a great tandem, Reimer is waived early on.
Kasper plays his way on the team right out of training camp, is a great 3rd line C and get 35 points.

Not so fun ones:
Perron has a down year, only gets 30 points.
Team still misses the playoffs by only 3-4 points.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Husso plays realgud through February but is looking gassed by the TDL.
Larkin is reinvigorated by having a true first line winger with him and has a career high in points.
DeBrincat comes in and plays with a chip on his shoulder and plays above his contract.
Seider finishes top 20 in defense scoring (on the lower end) but is a plus player and is in the discussion for top 10 defender in the league.
Walman is also realgud and next to Seider gets 30 points.
Maatta is traded after Edvinsson comes in and looks like a lockdown and transition monster.
There will be points in the season Detroit runs 11F 7D with only 3 centers. More ice for Larkin, Compher and Copp. Maybe the odd shift for Rasmussen there.
Perron might have a down year offensively in a slightly reduced role but he'll prove to be pretty good defensively.
Kostin and Fischer become fan favorites and will punch at least one Tkachuk in the face during the season.
Sprong pots 20 but is a healthy scratch at least 5 games.
Wings will still be in the playoff hunt by mid March but Reimer costs them enough games due to bad goals that they're outside looking in.
270GF, 265GA

 

[odin1981]

I came here to say the same thing. We will have a better year, but not by a whole lot. We will score more goals at least.

Yeah, I mean if everything breaks right for us we could snag the EC2 spot as the 8 seed. But I would lay odds on that happening at like a 10-15% chance.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I came here to say the same thing. We will have a better year, but not by a whole lot. We will score more goals at least.

The wings needed 7 more wins, 14 more points to be the #8. Health, much improved depth and steady goaltending and this team can hit that mark.

 

[Henkka]

This team as a poor man's 2002 Stanley Cup Winner:

Shanahan - Fedorov - Yzerman
DeBrincat - Larkin - Perron

DeBrincat is not a power-forward like Shanahan was, but will produce like him. Different ballgame nowadays. Larkin equals easily 33y old Fedorov, Still on his prime. Perron represents our team most oldest veteran as 1-legged Yzerman.

Maltby - Draper - McCarty
Kostin - Rasmussen - Fischer

Klim Kostin is the same player as Darren McCarty was. All heart and soul guy, nice person, will hit hard, will fight, will score important goals. Fischer is same as Maltby, important penalty killer, also nasty and annoying guy like Kostin, but not as physical. Rasmussen will be important defensive faceoff guy just like Kris Draper was and also big role on PK.

Devereaux - Datsyuk - Hull
Berggren - Compher - Sprong

Berggren is the creative guy in on this line, like Pavel was as a rookie. Not as good as Pavel was, but Compher is the better version of Devereaux as solid defensive player on that line. Sprong is the pure sniper like old dog Hull was.

Robitaille - Larionov - Holmström
Fabbri - Copp - Raymond

Raymond is the creative and also defensively sound Larionov in here, not center but most important player on this line, like Igor was. Copp represents Holmström's demolition man work and Fabbri is the scorer like Robitaille. Not much ice-time given, but this line will score a lot per ice-time.

Veleno is Jason Williams. A 13th forward.

 

[norrisnick]

This team as a poor man's 2002 Stanley Cup Winner:

Shanahan - Fedorov - Yzerman
DeBrincat - Larkin - Perron

DeBroncat is not power-forward like Shanahan was, but produce like him. Larkin equals easily 33y old FEdorov, still on his prime. Perron represents our team most oldest veteran as Yzerman.

Maltby - Draper - MacCarty
Kostin - Rasmussen - Fischer

Klim Kostin is the same player as Darren McCarty was. All heart and soul, nice person, will hit hard, will fight, will score important goals. Fischer is same as Maltby, important penalty killers, also nasty and annoying guy like Kostin, but not as physical. Rasmussen will be important defensive faceoff guy just like Draper and also big role on PK.

Devereaux - Datsyuk - Hull
Berggren - Compher - Sprong

Berggren is the creative guy in on this line, like Pavel was as a rookie. Not as good as Pavel was, but Compher is the better version of Devereaux as solid defensive player on that line. Sprong is the pure sniper like old dog Hull was.

Robitaille - Larionov - Holmström
Fabbri - Copp - Raymond

Raymond is the creative and also defensively sound, not center but most important player on this line, like Igor LArionov was. Copp repsesents Holmström's demolition man work and Fabbri is the scorer like Robitaille. Not much ice-time given, but will socre a lot per ice-time.

Veleno is Jason Williams. A 13th forward.

Being a collection of 13 forwards does not make it a poor man's 2002 Red Wings.

 

[Henkka]

Being a collection of 13 forwards does not make it a poor man's 2002 Red Wings.

It has the same structure. Not same talent level. But same structure,

Good hockey teams have a good structure. Team Finland usually has that kind of structure, when they are at their best.

Prepare for winning.

 

[norrisnick]

It has the same structure. Not same talent level. But same structure,

Good hockey teams have a good structure. Team Finland usually has that kind of structure, when they are at their best.

Prepare for winning.

Ok, we've got 4 lines each with a center and 2 wingers... The similarities pretty much end there.

 

[Henkka]

Ok, we've got 4 lines each with a center and 2 wingers... The similarities pretty much end there.

Structure. Learn the structure.

Learn hockey.

And most of all,

...please don't be a smartass in every freaking thread in here.

 

[norrisnick]

Structure. Learn the structure.

Learn hockey.

And most of all,

...please don't be a smartass in every freaking thread in here.

I fully admit to being a smartass a lot (sure beats the alternative...). But there's being a smartass and then there's leaving comparisons to a 9 HHOFer roster unchecked.

 

[Ricelund]

This team as a poor man's 2002 Stanley Cup Winner:

 

[Henkka]

I fully admit to being a smartass a lot (sure beats the alternative...). But there's being a smartass and then there's leaving comparisons to a 9 HHOFer roster unchecked.

I just compared the team structure. You went to individuals.

Our next season will have this same kind of great structure. In a nutshell, a tough matcup-line + 3 scoring lines with good chemistries. That's what we have now, no reason to deny it.

It's hard to build that under salary cap, but now it's there. That 2002 team was easy to build just by money. It would have been impossible on the day of 2023.

 

[RabidBadger]

Back up goaltending wins more games than backup goaltending did last year. AlJo and Mazur see NHL ice time.

 

[Shaman464]

Larkin stays at near ppg but doesn't eclipse it as offensively ADB slots into about the same offensive impact as Bert. ADB scores a lot like Bert in 21-22 and is around 35-35. Raymond hovers around 60 points. Compher and Copp are around 40 points. Seider is close to 50 points. Ed score 90 points and wins the Hart and Norris. Ras and Kostin both hit near 40 points and make a hard to play against 3rd line.

This team as a poor man's 2002 Stanley Cup Winner:

Shanahan - Fedorov - Yzerman
DeBrincat - Larkin - Perron

DeBrincat is not a power-forward like Shanahan was, but will produce like him. Different ballgame nowadays. Larkin equals easily 33y old Fedorov, Still on his prime. Perron represents our team most oldest veteran as 1-legged Yzerman.

Maltby - Draper - McCarty
Kostin - Rasmussen - Fischer

Klim Kostin is the same player as Darren McCarty was. All heart and soul guy, nice person, will hit hard, will fight, will score important goals. Fischer is same as Maltby, important penalty killer, also nasty and annoying guy like Kostin, but not as physical. Rasmussen will be important defensive faceoff guy just like Kris Draper was and also big role on PK.

Devereaux - Datsyuk - Hull
Berggren - Compher - Sprong

Berggren is the creative guy in on this line, like Pavel was as a rookie. Not as good as Pavel was, but Compher is the better version of Devereaux as solid defensive player on that line. Sprong is the pure sniper like old dog Hull was.

Robitaille - Larionov - Holmström
Fabbri - Copp - Raymond

Raymond is the creative and also defensively sound Larionov in here, not center but most important player on this line, like Igor was. Copp represents Holmström's demolition man work and Fabbri is the scorer like Robitaille. Not much ice-time given, but this line will score a lot per ice-time.

Veleno is Jason Williams. A 13th forward.

If you think about it, every NHL team ever was the poor man's 2002 Red Wings. But like they don't compare at all. This isn't the poor man's 2002 Wings. This is the team your mom has at home when you want a 2014 Red Wings.

 

[The Zermanator]

Thats a cheat code and shouldnt count.

You're right I should've saved that one for the guaranteed predictions thread.

 

[ShakenNotStirred]

If you think about it, every NHL team ever was the poor man's 2002 Red Wings. But like they don't compare at all. This isn't the poor man's 2002 Wings. This is the team your mom has at home when you want a 2014 Red Wings.

You leave my mom out of this.

1902, 2002, 2102. Who cares? I'm excited for the season.

Sensible prediction: games late in the year will matter more and be more enjoyable than they have in years past.