Detroit Red Wings: Lack of Goals Not Concerning Yet
By Mike Rizzo
The Detroit Red Wings aren’t putting enough pucks in the net but it’s still too early to get overly worried about it.
The Detroit Red Wings are third in the Atlantic Division in points, but have scored the third fewest goals in the division which leads to my question: should Red Wings fans be concerned about the lack of goals?
The Red Wings have scored 49 goals through 21 games including one against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
The Red Wings are 24th in the NHL in goals per game averaging 2.3 goals a game. They have scored two goals or fewer in 12 of their 21 games. On the other side the Red Wings are 10th in the NHL in goals against.
Are the Red Wings just going through a slump or is there something to worry about? Every team will go through a goal drought throughout an 82 game NHL season.
The Red Wings, as I have said all along, will be fine. Petr Mrazek has shown he is capable of being a top notch goalie and Jimmy Howard has held his own as well. Also, Pavel Datsyuk just came back which will also help the scoring woes this Red Wings team has faced.
Gustav Nyquist with seven goals and Dylan Larkin with eight goals are numbers one and two on the team right now. While it’s a good thing that the young kids are putting the puck in the net, it’s also a bad thing because a couple of the older guys haven’t been playing well. The guy who just signed a contract extension, Justin Abdelkader, has only scored twice since his hat trick on opening night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If this goal drought continues through December and possibly through the beginning of January then I think the Wings may need to make a trade.
The Red Wings have some young moveable pieces now for the first time in years. Maybe make a blockbuster trade for either Jordan Staal or Eric Staal brothers in Carolina or maybe even (gasps) Steven Stam… ok I won’t even say that name. That is too much wishful thinking.
If I was Ken Holland and this drought went until January, I would pick up the phone and offer a package of Anthony Mantha, Xavier Ouellet, a first round draft pick, and Jimmy Howard to the Carolina Hurricanes for either Staal brother. Thomas McCollum be Petr Mrazek’s backup.
I would make that trade because the Wings are starting to have a semi problem. They have a lot of very decent to high level prospects and not enough room for them all. The Wings have several defensemen locked in for the next few years and Danny DeKeyser and Alexey Marchenko need to be re-signed as they are restricted free agents at the end of the year.
Hockeysfuture.com rates the Wings farm system as the fourth best in the NHL so moving some prospects won’t hurt them, especially with the amount of assets the Wings have in Grand Rapids.
Next: Detroit Tigers: What They're Saying About the K-Rod Trade
The Wings have a problem with their scoring but thanks to their recent drafting it might be a problem that can be fixed relatively easily.