Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Emphasis On Five Points

08/08/2018 at 1:02pm EDT

from Craig Custance of The Athletic,

Today, we look at the Atlantic. First, a quick refresher. The five categories that gave the Capitals a championship advantage — and the original story provides additional explanation on the categories — look like this:

1. Great centers
2. A game breaker
3. Offensive defensemen
4. A core hardened by the playoffs
5. Size

So how does the Atlantic division compare to the Capitals in these categories?

A game breaker – The Red Wings lost a ton of one-goal games last season in large part because they didn’t have that elite player to pull them ahead in crucial moments. They hope they’ve got one in Filip Zadina, but we don’t even know if he’s going to make the team out of camp. It’s a little early to give him game-breaker status here.

Offensive defensemen – Detroit brought back Mike Green in large part because he was one of the few Detroit defensemen to provide offense last season from the blueline. Filip Hronek may get there one day and will get a look in camp, but he’s not there yet. Trevor Daley can skate and transport the puck but doesn’t provide a ton of offense. This is a real area of need at the NHL level for Detroit.

more (paid subscription) on the Wings plus the other teams in the Atlantic...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by EthrDemon in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Still In It For Bubble Teams In The East - 1 hour ago
Comment by Steeb in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Still In It For Bubble Teams In The East - 2 hours ago