The Fantasy Fit for Every Red Wings Need

The Holes:

First, let’s start with where the holes actually are. The lineup card I’ve put together has all the players slotted where I believe they should be. Any players missing, I believe, aren’t best suited for this dream roster, and some (Justin Holl) aren’t even best suited for the regular roster.

Here are the forwards,

And now to do the same for the defence,

So, with that, we need to find a top line forward to play with Larkin and Raymond and a winger who can keep up with Kasper and Cat. Then, we need two right side defenders to play beside Chiarot and Johansson.

Top Line Left Wing: Matthew Tkachuk 

It almost seems too obvious. Larkin and Raymond face elite defensive deployment; neither of them is super physical, and both would massively benefit from a forward who would dig the puck off the boards for them. There is not a more perfect fit for that than two-time cup champion Matthew Tkachuk. The 27-year-old power forward was made in a lab to do all the things that this top line needs. Not to mention he would also bring some intangibles. Tkachuk has no problem dropping the gloves. Raymond was getting run a lot, and hopefully, Tkachuk would help stop that. Tkachuk also brings a winning pedigree and some swagger that this Red Wings team could desperately use. All in all, it seems too obvious not to take Matthew Tkachuk. 

Second Line Right Wing: Alex Laferriere

Okay, hear me out. I know the Kane-Cat connection is lethal, but at even strength, they were heavily sheltered. It’s best to let Kane and Cat run the power play and get the second line some more immediate help. For the record, I could’ve chosen Nylander, but that’s so clearly cheating, he’s obviously Toronto’s best RW. So, I landed on Laferriere. The 23-year-old is coming off his second full season, where he put up 42 points with 38 at even strength and had 124 hits. Offensively, his heat map was best in front of the net per Money Puck, letting Kasper and DeBrincat rely on their sniping a little bit more. Obviously, you’d want DeBrincat across from a pure playmaker. However, I think the hustle and hits that Kasper and Laferriere would deliver would let him get the puck in his spots more often. Both Kasper and Laferriere are so young so both will continue to rapidly develop. Defensively, Laferriere also had a really solid 55% Corsi For. Pairing him with Kasper would help this second line be less sheltered, meaning each line got more fair deployments and none are total defensive liabilities. Overall, Laferriere would be a great fit both short and long term. With his help, the second line would change from an offensive glass cannon to a gritty, well-rounded forward trio who can create offense from anywhere and get the puck to DeBrincat in his spots. 

Second Pair Right Defence: Erik Cernak

Cernak faces some pretty brutal deployment numbers in Tampa. His quality of competition and defensive zone starts are both harder than what Seider faces, he also maintains a nearly even Corsi For at 48%. Bringing him to Detroit on a second pair with Chiarot, the ask of him would still be high, but not as devastating as it is now. Him and Chiarot would end up playing competition around +0.2 relative Corsi For, so solid second lines and good third lines. They would also do it in far more offensive deployments than Cernak faces now. In general, the ease of Cernak’s deployments would make the second pair really great defensively. He would have to carry an aging Chiarot, but if Chiarot could tread water with Seider on the top pair, he should float enough on the second pair for Cernak to do the rest. The 6’4” Slovakian also tallied 156 blocked shots and 99 hits, all things that Detroit could use more of. 

Third Pair Right Defence: Nick Perbix

Perbix was a name I was throwing around a lot for the Red Wings during free agency time. I really thought Perbix would be a good fit on the third pair, so I’ll be a man of my word and stand by it here. A quick note before I begin, the Tampa Bay fans I’ve spoken to say Perbix is a mistake machine. So, despite the warning that he was essentially another Justin Holl, I’ve opted to trust my numbers at least a little bit. Perbix is 6’4”, which makes up for Johansson’s lack of size, while his 50 hits last season don’t suggest he’s physical, his 2.57 hits per 60 is good enough for me in that department. Generally, his deployment was pretty solid for a third-pair defenceman; 50/50 zone starts, played against low-end third lines and fourth lines. He did all of that with a Corsi For above 50%. All in all, I think Perbix does enough on the ice as a third-pair defenceman on the right side so that AlJo can move back to his natural left side and continue to grow there. 

Final Lineup Card:

So with all that, it’ll bring us to this final lineup card. I hope you enjoyed this lighter read ahead of the upcoming season. If you have anyone you feel would be better, feel free to comment below. 

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