Ho Ho Ho: The Red Wings Naughty and Nice List Is Here!

6 years ago

Well, the Holidays are officially here! The smell of egg nog is in the air as snow gently covers the roof of this North Pole sanctuary, forming long thin icicles on the eaves. Amidst the chaos of shuffling elves and anxious raindeer, Jolly Ol’ St. Nick sits in his office finalizing the infamous naughty or nice list that will dictate who will be rewarded with presents come Christmas and who will be punished with coal.

The Detroit Red Wings, specifically, have made it hard on me to classify. The team is 11-13-7 through 31 games this season, sitting five points outside of a playoff position. Some of their players have been playing great and deserve to be rewarded. Others have not and deserve a lump of coal. Here’s my Red Wings naughty or nice list for Christmas 2017:

The Nice List

Dylan Larkin

After a disappointing sophomore campaign, D-Boss had to bounce back in a big way this year. Playing centre for Team U.S.A. at last year’s World Hockey Championships did a lot for his confidence and he worked hard in the offseason to improve his two-way game. Since the start of the season, Larkin has 5 goals and 19 assists and leads the team in points and assists in all situations and at 5v5. He also leads the team in 5v5 on-ice shot attempt percentage and has earned a permanent position on both the powerplay and the penalty kill.

Larkin has truly made himself an indispensable asset for this struggling Red Wings team. For that reason, he finds himself on the Nice List. Luckily for him, I received his wish list this week:

Martin Frk

After a season of bouncing around the AHL last year, Marty Frk finally found himself back in Grand Rapids playing with the Griffins. This year, the Wings found themselves in a bind as Frk had to clear waivers to go back to the AHL. His playoff performance that helped the team to their second Calder Cup in five years was a near guarantee that he’d be picked up by another team in need of depth if exposed.

In his first four games of the season, this toothless wonder scored three goals and one assists, effectively earning his spot in the lineup. Since then, his scoring touch has cooled off, but he’s got the fourth highest 5v5 on-ice shot attempt percentage among team forwards. Initially pegged as a powerplay specialist so that he could unleash his monster slap shot, Frk has proven that he’s actually valuable at 5v5. He’s a strong forechecker and has been surprisingly good with the puck along the boards.

He’s certainly been a bright spot on this Red Wings roster so far this season and, for that, he’s on the Nice List.

Jonathan Ericsson

It’s hard to believe, but Jonathan Ericsson has actually been good this year. I know that his giveaways are of the more visible nature, but it’s the invisible plays he makes that never get any praise. The majority of his zone exits have actually been pretty good. He’s been managing to hold the blueline and get the puck deep into the offensive zone. He’s even found the confidence to join the rush at times and create scoring chances.

His 5v5 on-ice shot attempt percentage and goals-for percentage are the best of his career. He’s been one of Detroit’s best defensemen and because that, he won’t be getting coal from me this year.

Not like last year. Last year, he got coal.

Other notable Red Wings that have found themselves on my Nice List:

Anthony Mantha

Mike Green

Justin Abdelkader

Naughty

Henrik Zetterberg

Despite being our beloved captain, there’s no hiding the fact that Henrik Zetterberg is in the midst of a disastrous season. At 37-years-old, our beautiful Swedish leader was bound to start regressing and it’s hit him in a big way. For the first time since advanced stats have started to be recorded in 2007-08, Z has a 5v5 on-ice shot attempts percentage of less than 50%. He’s only recording 0.57 points per game played and endured the longest scoring drought of his career through November and December.

He continues to provide great morale and locker room support, but as far as on-ice performance goes, he’s been less than stellar. Last year, he was our shining star. This year, he’s getting coal. To the Naughty List with you!

Andreas Athanasiou

Andreas Athanasiou is one of the Red Wings most electrifying players. His thunderous speed and smooth hands have had fans on their feet more than once, but those cheers were silent for the first ten games of the season as Athanasiou was in a contract stalemate with the team.

When he finally did join the team, it only took him two games to find the back of the net. He’s been hot and cold since then, posting a 44.67% 5v5 on-ice shots for percentage that is the worst among team forwards. He’s still got a spot on the team’s powerplay that has only scored three times in the last eight games.

AA has been one of Detroit’s most inconsistent and disappointing players, especially after the show he put on at the start of the season with his contract dispute. That’s why he’s on the Naughty List.

Jeff Blashill

Let’s be clear here at the start: being on the Naughty List does not mean Jeff Blashill should be fired. It would be tough for any coach to come to Detroit and do good things with their mediocre roster. That being said, Blashill continues to make a mess of the Wings lines throughout the course of the game. There is very little consistency to how he coaches and who he chooses to give ice time to.

Some of the decisions that have landed Blashill on the Naughty List are: playing Niklas Kronwall at 3-on-3; continuing to reward Jimmy Howard with starts despite some poor play as of late; praising the “grit” and “toughness” of Luke Witkowski; and rewarding players with poor 5v5 stats with more 5v5 ice time, such as Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist.

Most of the time, it feels like Blashill just isn’t sure of what he’s doing. He’s flailing and so is his team. I’m sorry, Jeff. Coal is what you’re getting this year.