Detroit Red Wings midseason grades

You ranked 'em, so did I.

With the Detroit Red Wings on their bye week, and the NHL All-Star break to follow, it’s a perfect time to for some midseason assessment.

So, I reached out to the fans to get their take using the very unscientific method of Twitter polls.

Let’s take a look. For this exercise I only included players if they’d played at least 15 NHL games this season.

Ben Chiarot (48 GP, 4 goal, 9 assists, -13)

A C-grade fits well here, and I can justify the D as well. It just depends on what type of curve you are using when assessing Chiarot’s season.

As someone looking from the outside, objectively, this is about what Chiarot is. He’s on pace for a 20-ish point season, has some ideal moments, but in general when he’s on the ice the Red Wings are on their back foot defending.

That’s who Chiarot is, and if you’ve accepted that’s who Chiarot is, it makes sense. But if you think Chiarot is more, and Steve Yzerman clearly does with a $4.75 million cap hit, then his performance this season has not nearly lived up to the contract.

Moritz Seider (48 GP, 3 G, 21 A, -13)

Recency bias comes into play a bit on this grade. Using just the month of January, Seider is in the B or even A range for me. He’s averaging just under a point-per game (1 goal, 11 assists) since in 13 games in 2023, and he’s now with a more ideal partner in Jake Walman.

That’s the version of Seider the Wings want to keep developing and growing.

But taking the whole season into context, Seider’s slow start pulls the overall grade for me down to a C. That might be a bit harsh, but I think it’s important to look at the whole body of work for this exercise.

Andrew Copp (48 GP, 5 goals, 21 assists, +3)

This is another situation where it’s tough to separate the player from the contract.

Andrew Copp isn’t producing like a player making $5.625 million against the cap and in the first year of a five-year deal. It’s another deal where it looks like a player hit a hot streak at the right time, in Copp’s case with the New York Rangers after the trade deadline last season, and someone was willing to bet that was the rule as opposed to the exception.

C probably fits well here, and it’s not as much as of C grade for the player, but more for the overall signing by Yzerman.

David Perron (48 GP, 14 goals, 16 assists, +2)

You may have picked up on the contract theme by now.

While Copp isn’t producing like $5.625 million player, David Perron is delivering at more expected market value with a cap hit of $4.75 million.

His point totals have dipped slightly with age, but his power play production (3 goals, 7 assists) is actually on pace for his career average — his 11 power play goals last season in St. Louis is a career outlier. It’s hard to nitpick at a player that’s come in and delivered in his role and has also been a key voice in helping grow some younger players. B fits here.

Lucas Raymond (48 GP, 15 goals, 17 assists, -9)

Coaches are overly critical of young players, it’s a fact of life.

Fans are often overly appreciative of young players, it’s fun, and I think in general we like pushing back against old coaches.

I think that comes into play here with Lucas Raymond, who is replicating his rookie season as a second-year player. For me, that’s more of a C grade, passing but not an improvement on his first-year performance.

Filip Hronek (48 GP, 7 G, 26 A, +12)

This, for me, is a no doubt A grade.

Hronek is having a career year, he’s on pace for 56 points from the blue line, and on a team that’s got it’s fair shares of up and down swings, he’s consistently driving the upswings.

If I have one criticism, it’s that he never should have shaved the ‘stache.

Dominik Kubalik (48 GP, 14 G, 20 A, -8)

I’m not really sure what more you could ask from Dominik Kubalík this season, if anything the B grade even feels harsh from some fans.

His 34 points in 48 games have already topped last season, and he’s on pace to for a career-high 58 points.

Considering I grave on player expectation curves, this is an A for me. If you’ve used a different grading criteria, which is why I like this exercise, I can see the B.

Joe Veleno (47 GP, 6 G, 8 A, +1)

Different roles and expectations, but I don’t see anything more than a C grade for Joe Veleno this season.

From my view, there’s been some growth and he should be in the 20-ish point range this season. But for a guy who was drafted in the first round and is 23, I think we kind of know this is what he is — a viable depth forward, but not much else.

If that’s what you want Veleno to be, I’m fine with the B grade. But deep down I think the Wings still want to see more.

Dylan Larkin (47 GP, 15 G, 28 A, +1)

Dylan Larkin is headed to the All-Star Game later this week he’s probably gonna have a career-best in points by the end of the season. Pretty good time to be heading into contract negotiations, which will probably shift even further into public view.

I like Larkin’s game, I’m not sure if he’s the No. 1 center on a cup-winning team, but for where the Red Wings are and as they build, he’s an ideal fit and an ideal captain. He’s taken a lot of crap the past couple years, and from a public perception standpoint how the contract situation is handled will ultimately decide how he’s viewed by Detroit fans.

But for this season so far, I’m good with the A grade.

Michael Rasmussen (46 GP, 9 goals, 15 assists, -3)

Michael Rasmussen has been really good lately, and like Seider, I think a bit of recency bias comes into play when dishing out the A grade.

For the month of January, for sure an A-type player. Before, that, I’m not really sold on giving that type of praise. For me it’s a B based on the entire body of work.

With Rasmussen the thing I like about his game is the progression we’ve seen from last season. He’s learned a bit more about what it takes to stick in the NHL, he’s learned the consistency and I think we’ve seen some of the confidence he needs to take another step with tools in his game.

Pius Suter (45 GP, 6 goals, 6 assists, -7)

He’s a fourth-line center on a middling team, and he’s kind of done exactly what you would have expected from him. It’s quintessential “C” grade for me for Suter, meeting expectations in most parts of his game, even if the offensive finish has been lacking compared to last season.

Adam Erne (43 GP, 6 goals, 8 assists, -7)

Honestly, what else would you have expected from Adam Erne this season?

He’s a fourth-line winger, who sometimes gets elevated to a role he shouldn’t be in. For me the C rating is perfect, the Ds feel a bit harsh and maybe come with a line of thinking that someone else should be in his spot (which isn’t wrong, by the way).

Oskar Sundqvist (39 GP, 7 G, 11 A, -7)

Really similar to Erne, with the one exception being Sundqvist is used on the power play and therefore gets a more favorable bottom line when it comes to points.

C works again for me here, you want your fourth-line players to be producing C-level results or better.

Jonatan Berggren (35 GP, 8 G, 10 A, 0)

This feels fair to me, I would give Berggren an A grade thus far this season.

As someone who covered the AHL extensively (and almost exclusively) for about five years earlier in my career, I’ve seen a lot of players go from near point-per-game showings in the AHL to shells of themselves in the NHL.

Berggren has avoided that phase, he’s jumped from the “shell of himself” phase to viable NHL player rather quickly and consistently over the course of 35 games.

Jordan Oesterle (34 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, +1)

Have you noticed Jordan Oesterle much this season?

No? That’s a good thing.

This is gonna sound harsh, but Oesterle’s job is to play zero-sum hockey as a third-pairing defender when he’s in the lineup. Limit the damage against, maybe keep things going in the other direction, but it’s really about not losing his battles on the ice more so than winning them.

And that’s what he does. For that reason I would actually give him a B grade, because I think he’s been even better than I expected in that role.

Jake Walman (32 GP, 5 goals, 3 assists, +13)

Perhaps the best story of the season in Detroit. This is a lock of an A grade. Good job grading, everyone.

Jake Walman is playing the best hockey of his life, he’s turned into the ideal partner for Seider and he’s likely going to get a massive payday after this season.

Not much else to say that Walman’s play hasn’t said already on this one.

Gustav Lindstrom (21 GP, 0 goal, 2 assists, -10)

If there were a C-/D+ range that would probably be the best category for Lindstorm, but since we are dealing with absolutes the D grade works here.

Gustav Lindstrom has been in and out of the lineup, so it’s hard to find rhythm, but unlike Oesterle, he’s been more noticeable in a bad way when he’s drawn in.

Elmer Soderblom (21 GP, 5 goals, 3 assists, 0)

Elmer Soderblom is currently in the AHL with Grand Rapids, but he played more than 15 NHL games so I included him on this report card.

I’m good with the B grade, even with Soderblom currently in the AHL.

Despite making the move to North America, adjusting to a different style of game, and finding his fit, the Soderblom has impressed me at times and has taken some strides I wouldn’t have expected this season.

Tyler Bertuzzi (17 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, -8)

Truthfully, Tyler Bertuzzi should be in the incomplete category. But since I was using 15 games played as the cutoff, we have to follow the rules and of those 17 games, a D grade is fair.

Bertuzzi has struggled to find his game, hasn’t been consistent, and instead of playing with some of the physicality and grit — which can lead to openings for his skill — he hasn’t been using the tools that turned him into a top-six force in the first place.

Ville Husso (34 GP, 17-11-5, 3.00 GAA, .901 SV%)

Derek Lalonde has referred to Ville Husso as the Red Wings MVP at various points this season. His .901 save percentage overall is also a bit of an unfair reflection of his overall play.

Husso has an .874 save percentage on high-danger chances, that’s very good. He also has a .918 save percentage at even strength, which is also quite good. When it comes to goals saved above average, a stat I think we should use more, he’s a 1.11 mark, which ranks 36th in the league.

In a season where the NHL average goaltending has dipped, Husso has been above average. For that I’m good with the B grade here.