The Detroit Red Wings’ 2024-25 season has not gone as planned. They’ve struggled early in the year, they’re off to a 6-7-1 start, and tensions are running high.
So, what are the biggest questions on fans’ minds after the season’s first month? We opened up the mailbag to find out and hopefully share some insight.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)
What is the likelihood of Derek Lalonde keeping his job after this season, and if he does, what would his next deal look like? If Steve Yzerman does make a coaching change, when does that happen, and who would be the likely candidate to replace him? — Graeme T.
Lalonde was the most common question, so I’ll use Graeme’s question as a catch-all.
Obviously, the Red Wings have underachieved, and as coach, Lalonde bears his share of responsibility. I expected a slight step back this season, but it’s been worse than that through the first 14 games. They’re probably fortunate to be only one game below .500.
They’ve improved their goals against, a key objective, but they’re scoring nearly a full goal less per game. They now find themselves bottom five in the league in scoring. The shot differential is even scarier. And even beyond the numbers, the team just hasn’t looked right for more than a few games.
I have to say, though, I have a lot of sympathy for Lalonde. I just don’t think Yzerman has given him a playoff-caliber roster.
The top of the lineup skews smaller at forward and has struggled to produce outside of the power play. The bottom of the lineup can play a heavier game but hasn’t found a way to translate that into production. Lalonde has tried to mix and match a bit, putting Andrew Copp onto the second line and Vladimir Tarasenko onto the third, and it’s looked better — but it hasn’t led to much actual scoring.
Meanwhile, the blue line is composed of a promising (but still young) top pair, a second pair that gets hemmed into its own zone far too often, and a bottom pairing that has had to be sheltered to an unsustainable degree.
Their recent game against the Rangers saw them finally control the run of play — mainly because they got out of their zone quickly and cleanly — but they still lost 4-0.
I won’t pretend to know what Yzerman is thinking here, but it’s fair to say Lalonde is vulnerable.
Coaches don’t typically get much patience in this league, and Lalonde is in year three. That is tied for the sixth-longest tenure among NHL coaches right now. The math — both on coach tenure and Detroit’s record — is not in his favor. And if things continue to go the way they have in this first month, the frustration and impatience will only grow.
The upcoming road trip feels quietly significant, with some winnable games on the schedule. Maybe the temperature cools down a bit with a few victories. Maybe it rises if Detroit still can’t figure things out.
As for the second part of Graeme’s question, it’s all still too hypothetical right now. It’s important to note, though, that while in-season coaching changes often come with a short-term boost, the roster would still be the roster no matter who’s behind the bench. Any coach would be left with the same issues to solve. There’s no guarantee anything would meaningfully change.
Still, if it keeps going the way it has this first month, the Red Wings may ultimately decide they want to find out. We’ll see.
Does the forward roster need a tweak, or does the coaching staff need to change our offensive strategy at 5v5? Coaching has emphasized less trading chances in the transition game but it seems like our team make up is not built for dump, chase, and forecheck. Our wingers are smaller and have a hard time gaining possession from dumping it in. What’s our most realistic way forward to boost 5v5 offense? — Nick H.
The most realistic way to boost five-on-five offense is to not get stuck in the defensive zone and tire your players out before they even get a chance to play with the puck.
I don’t think the way it has gone most nights has been by design. They want more offensive zone time and transition looks than they’ve gotten to this point, but, particularly if you’re defending for most of a shift, the natural decision usually becomes dumping the puck and going for a change when you can. That can be a vicious cycle.
Every team in the NHL has to dump and chase at times. NHL defenders are very good at their jobs, and establishing a consistent forecheck is key for every team — especially if you intend to score in the playoffs, when rush offense is even harder to come by.
There’s room for nuance here, though, and I think the Red Wings can probably help themselves by looking for a regroup pass in certain situations. If an outlet is available, that could allow Detroit to maintain possession a few more times a game.
It’s about finding the right balance between the necessary dump-ins and moments when there’s a little more time than players may realize.
How long can Lalonde keep Moritz Seider + Simon Edvinsson together with the 2nd and 3rd pairs getting caved in regularly? — Jeremy F.
This is a great question. Right now, the Seider-Edvinsson pair has been one of the team’s few real bright spots this season. As of this weekend, Seider and Edvinsson ranked eighth in the NHL in five-on-five expected goals share (61.03 percent) among pairs with at least 100 minutes played, according to Evolving Hockey. The numbers are just as good in terms of actual goals (62.51 percent).
That’s even more impressive when you consider they take the league’s toughest minutes.
But to Jeremy’s point, the bottom two pairs are struggling. The second pairing of Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry has a five-on-five expected goals share below 40. Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson are at 44 percent together, which isn’t ideal either. The pair of Holl and Albert Johansson has a very small sample but rough results.
And while Gustafsson and Johansson have more encouraging underlying numbers together in a limited sample, they’re both smaller puck movers and are being deployed quite carefully. Gustafsson has started just seven five-on-five shifts in the defensive zone all season, according to Evolving Hockey. Johansson is at 14. Perhaps Lalonde could try to give that pair more responsibility, but it’s not hard to understand the hesitance to do so.
Again: There just aren’t many easy answers with this roster right now.
So, yes, Detroit could try to split up Seider and Edvinsson to spread around their impact. But considering how well the two of them have worked together — and the fact that splitting them up didn’t lead to much success earlier this season — I’m inclined to think the Red Wings will keep them together as long as they can.
It’s hard to overstate the value of a top pair getting that type of result in that tough of minutes.
With the success Andrew Copp has had playing a top-6 role (albeit in a small sample size) and providing that below-the-goal-line play and strong forecheck, can you see them trying something similar with Michael Rasmussen? Feels like he has more to give on offense like Copp felt he did. — Farouk K.
They’ve tried it at times and probably will again at some point. It’s one change they could make to get more of a forecheck in the top six, for sure. The issue, in my opinion, would be related to your last point: Copp has a bit more of an offensive track record in the NHL than Rasmussen has shown. Copp particularly has strong vision as a passer, and I think that’s why they have him up there with Patrick Kane right now.
They can try something similar with Rasmussen. But I sense that Copp probably complements top-six players a little better right now.
How long a rope does Marco Kasper get if he continues to not put up points before sending him back down? IMO he’s looked good with his TOI. Is it just a case of letting him work it out and the points will come? — Scott P.
Good question here from Scott, because it’s a real decision the Red Wings will have to make. Kasper, to me, is among the Red Wings’ 12 best forwards right now. But if he’s not producing, is there more long-term value in sending him to Grand Rapids for more prominent offensive deployment? It’s a fair question, and I can understand the argument both ways.
There’s skill and offense in his game, which he’s shown some already. His line with Tarasenko and Jonatan Berggren has created legit chances, albeit not many goals. Would it be good for his confidence to play in a league where it’s easier to produce? Perhaps.
But with that said, points won’t be the primary measure of Kasper’s impact. Even in his prime, I see him more like an Anthony Cirelli or Lars Eller, rather than a 60-point scorer.
My gut feeling would be to leave him up and let him keep pushing and positively impacting the game — as he has on most nights.
Fans seem near unanimous in their disdain for Jeff Petry. Even still, he is a 2nd pair defenseman for Detroit. Can you make a persuasive case for why he should still be the D3/D4 for the Wings? Doesn’t need to be what you actually believe. — Kyle J.
I think for the Red Wings, it’s just a matter of what the alternative is. I don’t think Petry fits as a No. 4 defenseman on a playoff hopeful at this point in his career. He’s best suited for a third-pair role. But that’s true of all their other options, too.
Going with Holl on the second pair is worth trying. He’s off to a solid start, a much-needed bounce back from a tough 2023-24. Petry takes tougher minutes and moves better with more of a history as a playmaker. But his struggles in getting pucks off the wall (and finding outlets beyond rimming the puck) have been concerning. Detroit swapped Holl in for Petry against Toronto, so maybe that will become more of a conversation.
There will be some clamoring for Johansson in that role, but his lack of defensive zone starts speaks to the unlikelihood there, at least for now. It comes down to Holl versus Petry in the short term — and who can better handle the tougher minutes the second pairing takes compared to the sheltered third.
I’d like some insight into their scouting system. It seems their pro scouting has been iffy at best, especially evaluating the D-men we’ve acquired. Have there been any changes since Yzerman took over? — Kurt W.
When Yzerman first arrived, Detroit had a well-established director of pro scouting in Mark Howe. He also had an assistant general manager, Pat Verbeek, who was heavily involved in player personnel decisions. Neither is with the organization anymore after Howe retired in 2021 and Verbeek left to become Anaheim’s general manager in February 2022.
That 2022 offseason is when Detroit made its first serious push in free agency, signing Copp, Chiarot, David Perron, Olli Määttä and Dominik Kubalik and trading for Ville Husso. The next year, the Red Wings signed Justin Holl, J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, Alex Lyon and James Reimer and traded for Alex DeBrincat and Petry. This past summer, they signed Gustafsson, Tarasenko, Tyler Motte and Cam Talbot.
There are some “hits” in that group, with Compher, Perron, Gostisbehere, Määttä, Fischer, Lyon and Talbot standing out. But many of those hits were on short-term deals, and a lot of the misses have been on the larger contracts. To Kurt’s point, many of those misses are on the blue line. It’s a concerning trend.
The Red Wings replaced Verbeek with Shawn Horcoff but notably don’t list a director of pro scouting on the hockey operations website. There are five pro scouts and one European pro scout, plus Jiri Fischer has the title of associate director of player personnel.
I asked Yzerman at the beginning of the 2024 offseason if he planned to replace Howe as director of pro scouting, and he said, “Our scouting staff is in place, and titles may be different — we might not have anybody under the title of director of pro scouting — but our pro scouting staff is set and in place.”
What’s the Red Wings path to getting a playoff level 2nd pairing? Axel Sandin-Pellikka doesn’t really have the body and Ben Chiarot isn’t long term? Do the Wings have a complement to ASP in the system? — Zac S.
Sandin-Pellikka can be a second-pair defenseman on a playoff team down the line. He’s a smaller, offensive-minded defenseman, but he’s smart enough and competes hard enough to hold up in that kind of role — as long as he’s next to the right partner. Ideally, that player would be big, mobile and physical while able to move the puck a bit, too.
Edvinsson is a natural fit, but then you’d need to find a new partner for Seider on the top pair. The Red Wings will hope one of William Wallinder or Shai Buium rises to a top-four level, but that might be asking a lot. Both profile more as third-pair types at this stage.
Ideally, they’d be able to find a good fit in free agency or via trade, sort of like Mattias Ekholm has been for Evan Bouchard in Edmonton. Of course, to go back to the pro scouting question, that relies on Detroit getting the evaluation correct. And beyond that, the Red Wings will still need to try and find a longer-term answer in the draft.
I don’t think Sandin-Pellikka will arrive in the NHL for a while yet — my guess is 2026 — so there’s time to figure that out. But it’s a key question for their hopes of competing soon.
Is it a successful season if Berggren, Johansson and Kasper become regulars? — Hunter G.
At this point, those players being regulars was the expectation — especially Johansson and Berggren, who are already 23 and 24.
The trio looking like legit positive contributors would be a meaningful development. But the Red Wings can’t claim success this season without making the playoffs. Anything else is just more of the same.
(Photo of Derek Lalonde: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)
