Detroit Red Wings: Grading the 2019-20 defensemen performances
By Tyler Kotila
The final set of Red Wings defenseman is the outliers or the guys who made appearances but only played in a minimal amount of games.
Danny DeKeyser
As it was touched on in the first slide, Danny DeKeyser would only see the ice in eight games with the Detroit Red Wings during the 2019-20 season. A back injury that required surgery would keep the Red Wings veteran off the ice during the 2019-20 season, which means he will not receive a grade. DeKeyser is still slated to earn $5 million through the 2021-22 season on his current contract.
Cody Goloubef
The Ottawa Senators would waive defender Cody Goloubef before the trade deadline, and the Red Wings would ultimately scoop him up. He would only see the ice in two games for the Red Wings and only twenty-six total games on the season, meaning he was not graded. He would only nab one goal and one assist throughout the entire season and is a free agent at the end of the season.
More from Detroit Red Wings
- 3 Michigan Sportsbook Promos You Can’t Afford to Miss (Unlock Over $2,400!)
- BetMGM Michigan Bonus: $1,000 No-Sweat Bet to Back ANY Detroit Team
- SI Sportsbook Offers Michigan Bettors an Exclusive Promo Bonus (10x Your Money!)
- Detroit Red Wings: Can Lucas Raymond produce as he did in rookie year?
- Detroit Red Wings: Can Michael Rasmussen find his niche role?
Mike Green, Grade: A, sort of
Similar to DeKeyser, it was touched on that Mike Green was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in a deal that netted the organization some conditional draft picks.
Green was not given a grade in the above slides, but giving him an “A” seems appropriate as he managed to net the team a mid-round draft pick that could become even more.
Joe Hicketts
The twenty-three-year-old Joe Hicketts would not get many opportunities in the 2019-20 season, leaving him ungraded. Hicketts only saw the ice in six contests with the Detroit Red Wings during the season; he would tally two assists in those efforts.
He is also still under contract through the 2020-21 season; he will become a restricted free agent following next season. He is in the same boat as McIlrath, but Hicketts is a restricted free agent, whereas McIlrath will not be.
All-in-all the Detroit Red Wings defense core is not the strongest, and they will have to feed off the youngsters they have coming up through the system. Perhaps the most exciting is going to be Seider, who looked mighty good with the Griffins in his first season.
Trending. Detroit Red Wings: Grading the goaltenders 2019-20 performances. light
The future is bright with Detroit Red Wings blueliners; the team just needs to hope that some of the guys pan out and produce a healthy blueline for the future of the organization.