Red Wings 19/20

The Wings enter the 19/20 season as the champions for the first time in their EHE history. They only had the privilege of going to the playoffs once prior but were knocked out in the 1st round by the Ottawa Senators. The second time around was a whole lot different as they steamrolled through everyone. This time around will be a lot harder for the Wings to have success with so many teams upgrading in the off-season.  Entering this season there are a good number of teams with great depth and all will be gunning to repeat the success the Wings had last postseason. 

Offseason moves 

To Calgary : Alex Tuch

To Detroit : Shea Theodore 

Alex Tuch was vital for the Wings success in the playoffs as he was part of that 3rd line with Drouin and Dvorak/Sheahan that brought a lot of success in shutting down some of those top lines while chipping in goals in crucial moments. Management did not want to part with Tuch but when the offer on the table was Theodore they simply couldn't pass up a chance to add a cornerstone defender in Theodore that will man their blue line for years to come. 

To New Jersey : Dan Renouf

To Detroit : Jared Coreau

This was a small trade but one that gave the Griffins their starting goaltender as Sparks was promoted to the big club. Coreau should bring a veteran presence to this young team while letting Parsons gain some experience playing a backup role. 

To Colorado : Tyler Lewington and Vincent Dunn

To Detroit : 500k and a 5th rounder (COL 20)

Simply a trade to get rid of some extra bodies and gain a pick in the process. 

1st trade of the season 

To Colorado : Evgenii Dadonov

To Detroit : Valtteri Filppula, Nikita Gusev and a 1st rounder (COL 21)

This was a trade because the Wings would be losing Dadonov in the offseason to UFA status and felt the time was right to retool this team and get stronger more so for the future. Filppula slides into the 3rd line and gives the Wings another player who can help on the defensive side and on the PK unit.

Gusev's contract in the KHL ends at the end of this year and will be joining the Wings fulltime next season. Gusev has already stated he’s excited to link up with his fellow Russian buddies Kucherov and Tarasenko. Gusev joining Filppula will help give the Wings 3 lines they can roll again like last season.

Outlook

The Wings may have a tough season ahead with so many great teams out there enjoying success but if they can manage somehow to sneak into the playoffs this could be a team to watch out for especially if they upgrade at certain positions in the coming season. 

Projected lineup

Boeser               Draisaitl             Kucherov

Drouin               Trocheck            Tarasenko

Filppula             Rodrigues           Dvorak

Sheahan             Letestu              Karlsson

           Theodore            Hronek

           Hagg                   Stetcher

           Hicketts               Benning

        Hellebuyck

        Bernier