2023/24 NHL Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

Rusty Gorelick Updated: Oct 04 2023 15:27

The Detroit Red Wings finished second-to-last in the Atlantic Division last year, but a few big offseason moves should see them be more competitive in 2023/24.

The Red Wings play in what was the NHL's toughest division last year - the Atlantic Division - where seven of the eight teams amassed at least 80 points during the 2022/23 campaign.

Detroit collected exactly 80 points on the season, finishing 12 points off a playoff spot.

The franchise made some major personnel changes during the offseason. Can those changes help the Red Wings rise up the standings?

Where did the Detroit Red Wings finish last season?

The Red Wings finished seventh in the Atlantic Division, 12 points off a playoff spot.

Two non-playoff teams finished between Detroit and the last Atlantic Division playoff spot: The Buffalo Sabres with 91 points and the Ottawa Senators with 86 points.

What to expect from the Detroit Red Wings in 2023/24

This season, the Detroit Red Wings will want to at least push for a playoff spot thanks to legendary captain and current general manager Steve Yzerman adding quality players, including the fourth-leading scorer on a division rival.

Detroit lost Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, and Dominik Kubalik in the offseason, but adding JT Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Alex DeBrincat should more than make up for the lost production.

Compher, who won the Stanley Cup in 2021/22 with the Colorado Avalanche, is coming off a season where he posted career highs in assists, total points, and average time on ice. Plus, he suited up in all 82 games in 2022/23.

DeBrincat's -31 plus/minus last season with Detroit's division rivals Ottawa was one of the league's worst, but that's an outlier as he had never posted a plus/minus for a season worse than -13.

A potentially prolific goalscorer with two 40-goal campaigns under his belt, Detroit would love if DeBrincat can find his best to help support leading scorer and captain Dylan Larkin as he did for Matthew Tkachuk in Ottawa last season.

Gostisbehere joins a group of good but not great defensemen. Moritz Seider, who enters the season aged 22 and was Detroit's top-scoring defenseman last season, is the pick of the bunch. Gostisbehere has the talent to join him on the top line, but recent seasons indicate he'll begin the year lower on the depth chart.

Detroit Red Wings 2023/24 odds prediction

The Red Wings are around the middle of the pack in the outright odds at +5000 to win the Stanley Cup. Detroit is +230 to make the playoffs and -300 to miss the playoffs.

Detroit has the second-longest odds to win the Atlantic Division at +1500.

DeBrincat is +15000 to win the Hart Trophy honoring the league's most valuable player, while Larkin is +25000 to win it.

Seider is just outside the main group of favorites to win the Norris Trophy for the league's best defenseman, with the 22-year-old priced at +3300. Gostisbehere is +10000 for the Norris.

DeBrincat is +8000 and Larkin is +12500 for the Rocket Richard Trophy honoring the league's top goalscorer.

Goaltender Ville Husso is +7500 for the Vezina Trophy honoring the league's top goaltender.

Head coach Derek Lalonde is +2500 to win the Jack Adams Award for the league's top coach, putting him in the middle of the pack.

When are the Detroit Red Wings key matchups?

The Red Wings kick off their season with a visit to the New Jersey Devils, a young team led by brothers Luke and Jack Hughes, on Oct. 12.

Their first Atlantic Division matchup comes when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 14. One week later, DeBrincat returns to his former stomping grounds when Detroit visits the Ottawa Senators.

Another bunch of divisional games happens in late October and early November: Detroit visits the Boston Bruins on Oct. 28 then hosts the Florida Panthers Nov. 2, the Bruins Nov. 4, and the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 9.

On Nov. 17, the Red Wings meet the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time in 2023/24, when the Detroit defense will be tasked with stopping Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.

Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks visit Detroit on Nov. 30, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's Edmonton Oilers face Detroit on Jan 11.

The Red Wings' last three games are a visit to the Maple Leafs and then a home-and-home with the Canadiens that begins in Detroit.

Who is the Detroit Red Wings' head coach?

Derek Lalonde is the Detroit Red Wings head coach.

He was named head coach - his first NHL head coaching job - during the 2022 offseason. In his debut campaign, the Red Wings went 35-37-10 and missed the playoffs.

Before he joined the Red Wings as the head coach, Lalonde served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning and was there during their run to win consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.

Lalonde, now 51-years-old, coached in the minor leagues before making the jump to the NHL with Tampa Bay in 2018.