The Detroit Red Wings were in the playoff hunt much of the season, the organization fell a little short and now are at a sort of crossroads. Ranked by many to have a top five prospect pool the Red Wings are in good shape regardless if GM Steve Yzerman decides to stock up for a playoff run or simply give prospects more AHL development time. The guess is Yzerman will add players.
The Red Wings need a few of key components in order to take a step towards being a playoff contending team. Scoring, goaltending, defense to be more specific a more reliable backup to starting goalie Ville Husso as the perceived goalie of the future, Sebastian Cossa is still developing. With some big names set to hit the free agent market, Yzerman will have little issue finding a backup goalie.
With some big names set to hit the open market, the Red Wings should have enough choices to improve scoring. At 240 GF and 279 GA for a -39 DIFF, the Red Wings need more scoring and better defense. Both D-William Wallinder and D-Albert Johansson are ranked #3 and #4 currently in the Red Wings prospect rankings. Yzerman could and perhaps should look at add a veteran or two in order to get better production out of the blueline.
It seems that the #2 ranked prospect C- Marco Kasper will get a longer look in training camp he is far from a lock to make the opening night roster. The Red Wings have a long history of wanting o give prospects plenty of development time. Kasper was called up at the end of the season but was limited due to a broken kneecap.
In the end the Detroit Red Wings are closer to the NHL Playoffs, there is still much work to be done. The guess is that Steve Yzerman will make upgrades this summer in order to give his team a push while giving prospects both a long look during training camp and more development time.
