Five Predictions For The Red Wings 2018-19 Season
By Nick Seguin
5 years agoI don’t know about you, but with the Red Wings only a day away from kicking off their 2018-19 regular season, I’m feeling the familiar tinge of excitement that comes every October. The players have a new season laid out in front of them like a blank canvas awaiting its artist to start his creation.
For the Red Wings, their 2018-19 portrait doesn’t have a necessarily positive outlook. An underwhelming defense is the underscore as to why this team isn’t yet ready to compete, but the weight doesn’t rest solely on their shoulders. The team’s offense ranked 28th in goals-for last season — and that was with Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. There is a lot left to be desired in that department and the team will look to Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, and Andreas Athanasiou for improvement.
Add to that an influx of new prospects and ageing goaltending and the Red Wings are dealing with a mixed bag this year. This makes them an even harder team to predict. Better sense says they’ll be a lottery team, but there’s no telling how individuals will respond to their opportunities and then how management will react to those performances.
So with that said, I’m a blogger and what more can a blogger do than put forth his five predictions for the team this year?
1. Anthony Mantha will score 30 goals
This one feels like a given, but it’s worth calling out because the Red Wings haven’t had a 30 goal scorer since they had four in 2009. Mantha is the closest they are going to get this year as he looks to build on his team-leading 24 goals from last season.
He wasn’t really a standout in the preseason, but he looked good on the top-line that was centered by Larkin. With Larkin’s playmaking ability, Mantha will find the puck on the blade of his stick much more than in the past and all that will be left to do is shoot it, which he will do. I’m calling for 30+ markers from Mo this year.
2. The goalie situation will be much more 1A/1B than starter/back-up
Going into the season, the general consensus is that Jimmy Howard is the starting goalie and Jonathan Bernier was brought in to back him up. However, Bernier has never been one to sit back and accept his position as a back-up goaltender. Once he gets some games in, I think we’ll see some equal or better performances than Howard, earning Bernier more starts.
Bernier’s career save percentage is .914%, which is nothing to roll your eyes at. He’s won the starter position in past similar situations with the Toronto Maple Leafs, beating out James Reimer on multiple occasions. He was also relied heavily upon down the stretch in Colorado last year and played a key role in the Avalanche’s playoff appearance. He could very well earn 40+ starts in Detroit this year, making him the 1B option, instead of just the back-up.
3. Gustav Nyquist will be traded before Christmas
The hockey media likes to make a lot of noise around the NHL trade deadline, but the truth is that trade deadline deals are very rarely worth it for the buying team. Case in point: the Vegas Golden Knights were fleeced last year on the deal that sent a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick to Detroit in exchange for Tomas Tatar.
Fans still praise Ken Holland for that deal and it’s well-deserved. It was a great deal for his Red Wings. But don’t expect a GM to take the same bait at this year’s deadline with Gustav Nyquist. The former 28-goal scorer may have the potential to hit 30 if paired with the right players, but his performance over the last few seasons has not been that inspiring.
The Wings simply won’t get the deal at the deadline that they got for Tatar so if they are going to move Nyquist, which they should, it will be earlier so as to maximize his value with his new team. Holland has never shied away from trading players early in the season (see: Riley Sheahan and Ryan Sproul) and I believe he’ll deal Nyquist before the Christmas break, especially if he gets a solid performance out of rookies.
4. Michael Rasmussen will struggle
Hey, speaking about the rookies, let’s talk about Michael Rasmussen! I think he’s going to have a really tough year, having to skip the step of playing some games in the AHL.
I know, I know, he had a great preseason, but the preseason is not indicative of regular season competition. Rasmussen is being touted as a net-front guy, but now he’s going to have players like Brent Burns, Zdeno Chara, and Shea Weber to battle with. These are big men with lots of NHL experience who are not going to go easy on him. It’s going to take some time for him to figure out. I’m predicting 15 goals (only 8 at 5-on-5) and a 30-point season.
5. Filip Zadina will make his NHL debut after the World Junior Championships…
… and stick with the big club. Based on Jeff Blashill’s quotes to date on Zadina’s preseason performance, there isn’t a lot of work to be done outside of adjusting to the gaps on the ice at the professional level. His defensive game is good and he has a nose for the net, Zadina just needs to adapt to the speed at which the game moves in order to better time his shooting and make better decisions on the ice.
I give him half the year to make that adjustment, then he’ll go out and put on a show at the World Junior Championships. Upon his return, he’ll be in the Winged Wheel to fill the spot vacated by the Nyquist trade and remain with the team for the second half of the season.
If this one is to come true, the Red Wings could have six of their last seven first round draft picks playing on the roster. Talk about rebuilding through the draft!
Conclusion
Look, I am under no false assumptions that this is going to be a good team this year. In a feature I did for the Fourth Line Podcast, I said that given an over/under of 75 points on the season, I’m taking the under. I’m definitely predicting the Red Wings to be a lottery team this year.
But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a lost year for them. There are lots of reasons to be excited, from the dynamic young defensemen to the new core of players coming into their prime. This will be a year to watch the individual players and study their development.
It’s going to be a painful season from a win/loss perspective, but it’s going to be a lot of fun watching all of these young players come into their own together and build for the future.
What are your predictions for this season? Sound off in the comments below.
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