Let’s go back to the 2010-11 season. That year, the Detroit Red Wings finished with the 5th best powerplay in the league at 22.3%. That power play not only had the legendary Nicklas Lidstrom manning the first unit, but also the perfect right-handed shot to complement him: Dearborn native Brian Rafalski.
Rafalski put up 17 power play points with that right-handed shot, providing some flexibility on the blueline in those situations and allowing the Wings to put up some great man-advantage numbers. Henrik Zetterberg finished with 30 power play points, Pavel Datsyuk had 18 in 56 games played, Lidstrom with a sparkling 39, and Johan Franzen chipping in with 17, including 10 power play goals.
A top-five power play needs its right-handed shot, and Rafalski in his four-year tenure with the Red Wings was just that, topping out at 31 power play points in 07-08. However, the 37-year old Rafalski surprised many with his decision to retire in 2011 due to a lingering knee injury. The Wings were suddenly without a right-handed shot in their defensive rotation, which had been a big part of their offensive game.
Without this important piece, the power play took a dip. A 6.2% kind of dip to 16.11%. Right-handed D-man Ian White was brought in to replace some of the production Rafalski left and performed admirably, potting 32 points (but only 10 on the power play). Zetterberg went down to 14 power play points, Datsyuk with just five more in 70 games played, Lidstrom to 17, and Franzen to 13; a drastic difference from the top-five power play a year before.
When Lidstrom retired after the 2011-12 season, the defense corps was in rebuilding mode. In a lockout-shortened 2013, the power play was just two percentage points better, including a nightmarish stretch on the road to start the season. Niklas Kronwall took over as the power play leader on defense with 16 power play points.
The following season was not much better, as the power play was yet again middle of the pack (17.73%), with an injury-riddled season having a lot to do with it. Still, the Wings saw that they needed an offensive defenseman to quarterback a power play that had descended to mediocrity without an exceptional right-handed shot in years.
The 2014 free agency period and offseason came and went with names like Dan Boyle, Christian Ehrhoff, and Matt Niskanen turning down big deals from Detroit. Washington Capitals Mike Green, Buffalo Sabres Tyler Myers, and Edmonton Oilers Jeff Petry had all been mentioned (the latter two have still been hovering about in the rumor mill, albeit quietly) as possible options, but the Wings seem unwilling to let go of their young pieces for a possible trade.
The hole that the Wings and GM Ken Holland have not been able to fill has not reflected in their record (4-2-2) thus far in 2014-15, but their offense on special teams has been alarming. The Red Wings power play under new assistant Jim Hiller is 2-for-30 in the first eight games. 2-for-30. If that doesn’t raise a red flag or call for change, who knows what does.
The Wings have tried many different combinations. Whether it be Tomas Jurco or Pavel Datsyuk at the point, the Jurco-Sheahan-Tatar line, Andrej Nestrasil and Gustav Nyquist along with Zetterberg, you name it, the Wings have tried it.
At times the powerplay has looked solid at generating chances but has just not been able to finish. Shooters’ strong sides have not been found often enough with both power play units, including all left-handed shots. To make matter worse, lanes are not being taken advantage of quickly and the passing just seems to dominate more than shots on net.
The Wings can try all these different things to climb out of the powerplay basement (they’re 27th with a 6.7% clip), but to truly get back into the top five, or even the top 15, the Wings need to fill the overstated need. Whether it be through the organization or out on the market.
The problem with a powerplay unit that has no right handed shot is that it just becomes easier to defend. Wings opponents can force the puck to the right wing boards. Once it is on the right hand side of the ice, there is no pass that the Red Wings can make that results in a quick one-timer opportunity. The puck has to cross the body of the receiving player before he can get it on his stick. A right handed defenceman or a right-handed forward playing high, would create at least one pass that could result in a quick shot on net. The Wings lack this with only Luke Glendening (who is not known for his offense) Nestrasil (eight career NHL games, one assist) as right-handed shooters on the current club.
Names like right-handed defenseman Ryan Sproul and his cannon of a shot and right-handed Finnish sniper Teemu Pulkkinen jump out if the Wings want to go through the interior. Pulkkinen has four goals and five points in five games so far in Grand Rapids, while Sproul is pointless so far but possesses a shot and offensive instincts that could get him on a hot streak or ignite his team at any moment.
On the market, Myers has been the name most often mentioned in various reports throughout the summer and into the fall. The Houston native possesses a right-handed shot and a 24-year-old figure looking to still improve, but many red flags make him seem like it is not worth it for Detroit.
A $5.5 million cap hit for five more years and a point total that has dipped like a bucket of water from his 48-point Calder Trophy winning 2009-10 season hurts him for the supposed return the Sabres are asking. Top prospect Anthony Mantha had been a piece reported to be going the other way and the latest rumors add first-rounder Dylan Larkin to the list. The Wings do not want to part with either.
Myers is pointless through nine games this year and despite the ugly scene he is a part of in Buffalo, it would be a very risky move for the conservative Holland and company. It would be interesting to see how he would fit in with one of the best defenses so far in the Eastern Conference, but the asking price would have to go down drastically.
The Wings could go after some other under-the-radar acquisition through trade or promote from within, but any way one cuts it, a fix needs to come at some point for a team that has wasted prime scoring opportunities on special teams while their defense and goaltending have answered the call. A 2.25 GF average through eight games would be increased by a solid power play to complement a sparkling penalty kill (25/26). The key to the power play? A quarterback. Where will the Wings go for this? Only time will tell.
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