Detroit Red Wings: 3 forwards ready to breakout in 2021
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings are coming off of a historically bad 2019-20 season. It’s an organization that desperately needs a lift, here are three players that have breakout potential entering the 2020-21 season.
The Detroit Red Wings continue to be bogged down by players firmly on the back-nine of their career. It’s a roster littered with ‘has-been’ type talent.
When general manager Steve Yzerman returned home to overtake this sinking ship we call the Red Wings, he certainly understood he had his work cut out for him, but he couldn’t have foreseen things would be ‘this’ bad.
Somehow the Detroit Red Wings need to shed some dead-weight; players such as Justin Abdelkader, Frans Nielsen, who both ironically wear a letter on their jersey for Detroit, yet provide little production. Nielsen has two more seasons left on his deal that averages $5.25 million per season, similar to Abdelkader’s contract worth $4.25 million per season for the next three seasons. Both players produce little-to-no offense.
Detroit can live with a player like Valtteri Filppula, who is entering the final year of his contract worth $3 million per season, along with a career depth-player like Darren Helm, who is also entering the last year of his deal that averages $3.85 million. Both players have a chance to be dealt at the trade deadline for a team looking for a fourth-line penalty killer that can chip in on the scoreboard from time-to-time. Detroit isn’t in the market for ‘time-to-time’ scoring; it’s a team that needs primary and secondary scoring yesterday.
Last season the Red Wings organization finished last in just about every category. Detroit amassed 17 wins, a mere 39 points, scored a league-worst 145 goals, while allowing a league-worst 267 goals against, yet somehow, they are slated to pick fourth in the 2020 NHL Draft.
When you consider the Red Wings lack of depth scoring, it’s a franchise that is in dire need of a few forwards to break out offensively. Here are three players that have breakout potential entering the 2020-21 season.