For the second season in a row, the Detroit Red Wings failed to make the playoffs, but you can’t say it’s because of a lack of production from their leadership. At 37-years-old, team captain Henrik Zetterberg continues to be one of the team’s most consistent players. Though his production this year began to be eclipsed by some of the youth, Zetterberg grounded the top-line and acted as an anchor for rookies and sophomore players.

On top of his play, Zetterberg took time to speak to the media after every single game, defending his teammates and their play. Even though his production may be slowing down, he is the epitome of a leader and the personification of the winning culture the team is trying to preserve.

The only archetype to compare Zetterberg to is that of a first line centre. This HERO Chart does not include this past season’s stats, but it provides a good picture of Zetterberg’s value to the team over the three years prior.

It paints the picture of a strong two-way player who doesn’t score as many goals as he sets up. It also shows how strong his defensive game is, as his shot suppression is right on par with that of a first line centre. Other than goals, the only place his score is below the archetype is in shot generation. That being said, his Corsi-For percentage over the same span of time was over 50%, which is more than most of his teammates. Basically, I’m not too worried about his shot generation with the kind of elite playmaking and 2-way play that he brings to the table.

For the third year in a row, Zetterberg has played a full 82-game season. It’s quite the feat for the 37-year-old who missed half of two seasons with some serious back problems five years ago.

What’s perhaps more impressive is Zetterberg’s point production. In 2017-18, he had more points than any other player aged 35 years or older. So he’s still producing far more than his age dictates he should. That being said, he underperformed against his season last year without the added pressure of missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years.

While he is no longer the leading point-getter on the team, Zetterberg still saw a lot of time on the team’s first powerplay unit, where he recorded almost half of his points.

For the first time in a long time, Zetterberg’s Corsi-For percentage dipped below 50%. It was a tough season for him in the possession department at 5-on-5 as his lack of shot generation really started to show. Z really had to work in the defensive zone because the Wings couldn’t sustain any offensive zone pressure.

This isn’t just on Zetterberg, but it is an indication that his individual play isn’t enough to carry the whole team anymore. It’s starting to feel like it’s time for the team to rely less on Zetterberg, especially now that his scoring is being surpassed by younger teammates.

Zetterberg may not have scored as many goals as he did last year, but he was on the ice for nearly the same amount at 5-on-5, meaning his teammates were thriving around him. Gustav Nyquist and Anthony Mantha, two players who Zetterberg played frequently with, scored 18 and 15 goals, respectively.

Z’s 5-on-5 on-ice goals-for per sixty was down only slightly this year (2.36 from 2.97 last year) but was ranked 6th among Red Wings who played more than 600 minutes.

Once again, Zetterberg was one of Detroit’s most consistent producers and only slightly underperformed compared to last year.

Zetterberg will be back next year to lead this new generation of Red Wings and teach them the winning culture that management speaks so highly of. I would love to see Zetterberg moved to the wing to ease the pressure on him and his body, but I think he’ll probably start the season at centre on the top line again. The team relies on him far too much still to give him a lesser role.

At the midway point of the year, if Larkin’s play remains consistent, I could see them moving Z to either the wing on the top-line or center on the second line. As for his point production, expect it to continue to decrease slightly as he gets less minutes down the stretch.

There was some talk about whether or not Zetterberg would even finish his contract out with the team, but he’ll be back at least another year. With the new front office mentality of becoming younger, Zetterberg’s time on ice could take a bit of a hit next year, but he’s still needed in the locker room to show these players what the Red Wings’ winning culture really means.

He wants to be back. His teammates want him back. He’ll be back.