Niklas Kronwall will return to the lineup tonight for the first time since skating off the ice on April 21st after the Red Wings lost their third straight first round series to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. That was due to a lingering knee injury that caused him to back out of the World Cup so he could be 100% for the team he has suited up for since 2003 (that long!). The status for Kronwall has changed numerous times from “questionable for opening night,” to “opening weekend,” to “further evaluation.” The status is green now, and when asked on his season debut about how much career he may have left, even he did not know the answer but claimed he was ready to see what happens.
“That’s a good question. I guess we won’t know until I come back. But I feel like I got a lot left.”
To say last season was a struggle for the soon-to-be-36-year old was an understatement. Logging just 1:50 less per game than he did in 2014-15, he played in 16 less games (64) because of a scope procedure on that aforementioned knee in January. Even before his injury, there were many signs of Kronwall slowing down after his third career 40-point campaign where he scored the most goals in a season for him since 2011-12 (9).
His final stat line in 64 contests read three goals and 26 points, his lowest point total since the 2006-07 campaign, the first full season of 65+ games. What’s more, after scoring 17 power play goals from 2011-15 to place 11th overall among defensemen in that span, the Stockholm native scored 0 last year with the lowest amount of power play shots (25) in the aforementioned span. That number has been decreasing ever since his seven-goal man-advantage marker campaign in 2011-12.
In terms of advanced stats, the knee injury and age slowing Kronwall down is evident. Reaching as high as a 54.2% Corsi-for percentage in the first year without Nicklas Lidstrom as a partner, the constant ice time average of 23:38 per game for 271 contests from his a season when he just turned 32 has worn out that number to 48.9% last season including a -3.4 Corsi-Relative rating. With the constant time up front on the number one defensive pair, it is clear Kronwall needs a lesser role in 5-against-5 play, and tonight’s lines provide hope of that coming, at least in his first game back.
#RedWings defense pairs at skate:
DeKeyser-Green
Ericsson-Marchenko
Smith-Kronwall
Looks like Ouellet and Sproul extras. Skating together— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 4, 2016
With a $4.75 million cap hit on the books for two more years after this one, and for how long he has been here, there was little chance that Kronwall would be bought out and he would suit up when finally healthy.
This is the way to get him back into the swing of things.
Mike Green has established himself as the top offensive defenseman on the team with three goals and eight points and has been rewarded with nearly 24 minutes per night, a figure not seen since his heyday with the Capitals as the anchor of the brigade.
Putting Jonathan Ericsson, Kronwall’s first pairing partner for the better part of the last two seasons, in a middle-pairing to bottom-two role with Alexey Marchenko has done wonders for his on-ice performance so far as one of the biggest surprises on the defense core. He has been firmly planted in the defensive zone by head coach Jeff Blashill, starting 70.5% of his shifts there with a classified defensive defenseman like himself in Marchenko. Compare this to his 51% mark last season, where his struggles and deficient hockey IQ were on display in a role he wasn’t suited for.
Paired with Brendan Smith, Kronwall should get his offensive zone starts with the former leading the team in offensive zone starts percentage at a 57% clip. Both have been known to be offensively minded (though Smith’s raw offensive numbers aren’t reflective of that) in their careers firing the puck up the ice to get the transition game going with Smith excelling in terms of possession numbers and Kronwall, throughout his career, in terms of raw point totals. In order to squeeze any more offensive output from Kronwall, this is the right direction to go in, slotting him for low-end minutes five-on-five so he can focus on his offensive craft, especially on the power play.
Though Kronwall’s return does take a spot away from Xavier Ouellet and/or Ryan Sproul, his return is interesting. Taking the weight of a number one role off his shoulders will allow him to play within himself and focus on his offensive game since his knee simply won’t permit him to play against the other team’s strongest forwards. How much that injury will linger in terms of on ice play this season has yet to be seen.
Until now.
Quote courtesy of Detroit News.
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