Detroit Red Wings: Veteran Danny DeKeyser is overstaying his welcome

The Detroit Red Wings have played ten games of the 2021-22 season. They sit at 4-4-2, and things have been looking up for the team. They look much better than they have in prior years, but there are some areas that could use some improvements.

One of the areas to address with the Detroit Red Wings 2021-22 season is the defenseman. One to scrutinize is veteran Danny DeKeyser. The former Western Michigan Broncos product has looked like a pylon out there on the ice.

The Red Wings organization has had DeKeyser with the team for ten seasons, and at the age of 31, he is not quite the player he used to be. He may not have been a Norris Trophy candidate in his career, but he certainly has had much better seasons.

Coming off of some injury troubles in last year’s season, he had to find his footing once again. He would finish last season with four goals and eight assists for 12 total points over 47 games played. However, the 2021-22 season has started off on a much different note.

Detroit Red Wings veteran Danny DeKeyser looks rough out there.

Through the first ten games of the season, the Red Wings defender has logged nine games where he has just one assist to his credit. However, it’s known that he is not the most offensive defenseman, but even then, it’s tough not to expect a little more from the veteran.

He has logged the fourth-most average time on ice among Red Wings players at 19:38 while not being the best option. He’s looked slow and not quite up to speed as much as it seems. DeKeyser is tied with five other members for the team’s worst plus/minus rating with a minus-three rating.

It’s not great to look at DeKeyser’s stats further, but why not? His Corsi For rating is 40.2, which is 7.1% lower than the team’s average itself. DeKeyser has also struggled when it comes to allowing shots on the net while on the ice.

All around, DeKeyser has not lived up to being the defender that the Red Wings would like to see from their veteran defender. The Red Wings need to see success out of their defense core, and with DeKeyser clogging up a spot, it’s not going to go great for the future.

The Red Wings have other options for defenders and could let some of the younger crowd get a chance to strut their stuff; the bigger question is how DeKeyser will adjust as the season continues.

It seems like the Red Wings are going to continue to dress him night in and night out, so it will be interesting to see what happens with DeKeyser’s play.