We all have in mind who needs to break out for the Red Wings, but who else could make a jump and help push the team forward in the rebuild? We will start with the obvious choices...
5. Michael Rasmussen He definitely showed there's a place for him in the NHL last year, as his feet finally started to catch up with the pace of the game at the top level. Adding some serious scoring would be a great scenario. While his ceiling seems to be closer to the 35-40 point mark, if he could come close to that this season as a likely third line center, that would be a successful season. If he is able to do it as a 3C, that means some other things went right down this list. More on that shortly.
4. Jakub Vrana He showed some brilliance after being acquired from the Capitals in the Anthony Mantha trade, and instantly became an obvious candidate for a breakout. After playing on a cup team where he was essentially a third line winger, he was obviously sheltered from a prime role. Could his late season burst be the start of a major breakout? For a former top-15 pick who has shown flashes of brilliance in a sheltered role, I won't be betting against him. It's entirely possible that he posts better numbers than Mantha this season.
3. Filip Zadina This one is obvious. The former number six pick has shown some serious growth in the past year. There are a lot of naysayers about him, and I just don't get it. At the moment, he is an outstanding two-way player. I was seriously impressed with his play away from the puck this past season, looking like Pavel Datsyuk on the backcheck on a handful of occasions.
No question, Zadina needs to find that next gear offensively. You can see he likes to handle the puck, but doesn't quite have the wheels to get the separation he needs to carry the puck like that. A quicker first couple steps could help. He lacks some explosiveness to his skating, but has some tremendous offensive skills. He is rarely out of position, and could seriously benefit from playing with better players, and more consistency in line mates. Is he a bust? Absolutely not. In fact, he's played about half the games of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and only has 7 fewer goals. Sure, we would all like a star right out of the gate, but Filip is far from a lost cause, and has yet to even play a full season. At a minimum, he should have the potential to score 20-20-40, how much he can do beyond that is the big question.
2. Dylan Larkin Larkin? Seriously? Larkin's career to this point has been an offensive roller coaster. Up and down, as the talent around him has come and gone. And as injuries have nagged at him, he desperately needs a healthy breakout year. A breakout year from a guy who has scored 30 goals and 70 points before? Yes. He needs to get that confidence back, and more importantly build on it. With his speed and skill, there's no reason he shouldn't be putting up 60 points every year. Is he a top-end number one center? Nope. Is he one of the top 20 centers in the NHL? No again. But he's probably one of the top-30, which means he is a low-end 1C or high-end 2C. He should be scoring more regardless. He needs to be one of the top offensive guys on the team if any progress is going to be seen this year.
1. Pius Suter That brings us to the newbie. There's a lot to like about Suter's game, but there's also some worry too. How much of his success as a rookie came as a result of playing with Patrick Kane? Looking at the highlights, quite a bit of it. But even though a lot of his production was the result of plays from Kane, one thing I constantly noticed, was he often seemed to be in the right spot. Whether for a rebound to bang home, or to take a drop pass heading up ice, he seems to be in the right spots. Some of that could be chemistry with an extremely talented linemate, but there's also some of that which is learned.
A productive reunion with Bertuzzi and Fabbri would be a welcome scenario for the Red Wings, as they effectively lack a bonafide 1C or 2C, depending on where you slot Larkin (by default, he falls into 1C category here). Regardless, it seems the Wings are counting on a lot out of Suter this year, and it may not be all that fair to lump a ton of expectation and responsibility on him from the start. This will be his third team in three years, with new linemates at each stop. Not to mention, the transition back to North America last year after spending a few years back overseas following his time in the Ontario Hockey League.
There will be a transition period for sure while Suter acclimates to his new linemates, assuming they are consistent (this is probably my biggest knock on Blashill, and sure he hasn't had much to work with, but even from his first season behind the bench, he is awfully quick to shuffle the lines, and it shows in the lack of chemistry between some otherwise talented players). Hopefully Suter will find some chemistry with whomever he plays with, and his positioning is encouraging on that front. A sophomore slump, however, could be devastating for a team without a whole lot of talent down the middle.
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