Inside the Article:
The Detroit Red Wings pulled off arguably their biggest heist in the last several seasons, finally bringing home forward Alex DeBrincat. And while we offered our initial line combination projection last month, last night’s new addition to the team changes things a bit!
Alex DeBrincat gives the Detroit Red Wings a bonafide scoring threat
DeBrincat has scored 40 goals twice in his career, while also having been on pace to reach the mid-40s in the 2020-21 season that began in January of 2021 and was only 56 games instead of the traditional 82.
He’s also the latest in a flurry of new Red Wings players that have been brought to town by Steve Yzerman, which also included J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, and Klim Kostin, defensemen Justin Holl and Shayne Gostisbehere, along with goaltenders James Reimer and Alex Lyon.
Our Projected Red Wings Forward Line Combinations
With DeBrincat’s acquisition, he’s almost certainly going to be skating on the team’s first line alongside captain Dylan Larkin.
Gone are the likes of Dominik Kubalik (traded for DeBrincat) and Filip Zadina, who was waived for the purposes of terminating his contract. Also all but officially gone are forwards Adam Erne and Pius Suter.
Take a look at our newly updated projection of what Detroit’s line combinations will consist of for their regular season opener on October 12 against the New Jersey Devils on the road.
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
David Perron – J.T. Compher – Jonatan Berggren
Robby Fabbri – Andrew Copp – Daniel Sprong
Christian Fischer – Michael Rasmussen – Klim Kostin
Joe Veleno
Elmer Soderblom
Marco Kasper
Austin Czarnik
Matt Luff
Our Projected Red Wings Defensive Pairings
Moritz Seider – Jake Walman
Justin Holl – Shayne Gostisbehere
Olli Maatta – Ben Chiarot
Simson Edvinsson
Gustav Lindstrom
Our Projected Red Wings Goaltending Projection
Starter: Ville Husso
Backup: James Reimer
Alex Lyon
Key Points
- The Detroit Red Wings acquired Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators
- The acquisition gives Detroit a bonafide goal-scoring threat
- Our initial line combination projections have shifted a bit in the wake of the new news
Bottom Line
Detroit Red Wings fans in Michigan and all over the world are in a much better mood right now than they were at last month’s NHL Draft when it appeared as though no deal for DeBrincat was going to materialize.
We hope that his presence on the Red Wings not only results in far more goals scored, but a potential ending to the seven-year postseason drought!
