The Detroit Red Wings have a good supply of young forwards, either on their roster (Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith) or in the pipeline (Joe Veleno, Lucas Raymond, Jonatan Berggren).
On defense, they have a blue-chip prospect in Moritz Seider as well as Jared McIsaac, Donovan Sebrango, Antti Tuomisto and Albert Johansson.
But who is their next No. 1 NHL goaltender?
They hoped it was Filip Larsson, and maybe he will be. But he has a long way to go after struggling in a small sample size with Grand Rapids in 2019-20 and Almtuna is Sweden’s second division this season.
A pair of Swedes drafted in 2018, Jesper Eliasson (No. 84) and Victor Brattstrom (No. 160), had decent seasons in Austria and Finland, respectively.
Their most promising goaltending prospect, however, is Keith Petruzzelli (drafted 88th in 2017), who has improved significantly in each of his four seasons at Quinnipiac and was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award this year.
But will he be in the organization long-term? Petruzzelli has a decision to make this offseason, and perhaps again in 2022. His status was among the questions from MLive readers in this week’s mailbag:
Q: Can you clarify something on Keith Petruzzelli’s pending free agency? If he opts for an additional year of college, will Detroit still retain his rights? Or will they expire in August regardless? -- Jeremy
A: This is what general manager Steve Yzerman said about Petruzzelli on Tuesday: “We’ve spoken with his advisors. I think Keith’s decision is, does he stay in school or does he leave? If he wants to leave, he can issue a 30-day notice and become a free agent if he’s not signed. I think if he stays in school, the Red Wings will retain his rights.”
Not sure what Petruzzelli could gain hockey-wise from a fifth year in college, but players have other reasons for wanting to return (academics, college life, etc.).
If Petruzzelli doesn’t return to college, the Red Wings will have until Aug. 15 to sign him or he will become a free agent.
Considering their lack of goaltending depth in the system, it would be a significant loss if he doesn’t sign, whenever he leaves school.
Q: I’m happy they signed (Lucas Raymond), but that’s a slap in the face for Jonatan Berggren. This kid should have been signed before Raymond. They need to sign him quick. He has proven himself in the top Swedish league with Skelleftea. – Brian
A: The Red Wings announced Berggren’s signing on Thursday. He had a strong final season in the top Swedish men’s league, finishing sixth in scoring with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 49 games.
Berggren and Raymond, the fourth overall pick in 2020, will compete for NHL jobs in training camp but might need some development time with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
Regardless, they add some much-needed skill and scoring ability to the pipeline.
Q: Was there any chatter or back knowledge of Yzerman reaching out to any potential replacements (for coach Jeff Blashill)? Did he make a run at anyone but strikeout? Personally, I think keeping Blash around is the right call. Definitely saw major improvement and the team never gave up on him. -- Reed
A: Yzerman was asked this on Tuesday – with coaches like Gerard Gallant, John Tortorella and Rick Tocchet on the market -- and said he did not contact anybody else, which makes complete sense. That would have been awkward and totally the wrong thing to do to talk to potential replacements before deciding on Blashill’s future.
Q: The defense improved. I am convinced that is a direct result of (acquiring) a new (group) of defensemen and replacing (Jimmy) Howard with (Thomas) Greiss. Do you see any of that improvement related to coaching? Should the failure of the specialty teams be specifically the fault of the coaching staff? At the beginning of the season, Blashill said the Wings would be a puck-possession team. I mostly saw dump and chase. Your thoughts? – Bill
A: The Red Wings’ goal-against average improved from a league-worst 3.73 in 2019-20 to 20th at 3.00 this season.
Much of it was due to better goaltending. Jonathan Bernier was consistently good again and Thomas Greiss, after a rough first half of the season, flourished down the stretch. Their goalies’ cumulative save percentage took a significant leap from .894 last season to .910 this year.
Defensive upgrades (Marc Staal, Troy Stecher, Christian Djoos and Jon Merrill replacing Trevor Daley, Mike Green, Madison Bowey and Jonathan Ericsson) made a difference, too. And their structure overall was better, despite breakdowns in several blowout losses.
Injuries to several key offensive players undoubtedly hurt the power play, which was even worse at 11.4 percent than last season’s 14.9 percent. But it wasn’t sharp even with a relatively healthy lineup – trouble with entries, lack of shooting mentality, inability to maintain pressure. That falls to some extent on coaching, which is why they will look for an assistant coach who has experience running a power play to replace Dan Bylsma.
They probably did more chipping and chasing because of their lack of skill and puck transporters. Ideally, every team aims for puck possession.
Q: Do you see either (Patrik) Nemeth or Merrill coming back to the Wings? I thought they both played pretty reliable D and would not be costly as well. -- Jerry
A: Yzerman said they need left-shooting defensemen since they have only two, Danny DeKeyser and Dennis Cholowski. I’m sure they will try to re-sign Staal. They will probably need another left shooter. I don’t think Nemeth will come back. I could see Merrill possibly returning, given his ties to Michigan, and he wouldn’t cost a lot.
(If you have a Red Wings-related question, email akhan1@mlive.com).
More: Jonathan Bernier discusses what future could hold for him
The Link LonkMay 22, 2021 at 03:05AM
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2021/05/red-wings-mailbag-what-does-future-hold-for-top-goalie-prospect.html
Red Wings mailbag: What does future hold for top goalie prospect? - MLive.com
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