NHL Preview 2024-25 51 SportsForecaster.com

Forwards

J.T. Compher [C]

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 190
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 77 19 29 48 -5 34 0.62
Career 605 122 162 284 -23 221 0.47
Forecast 79 16 32 48 - - 0.61

In 2024-25, Compher will try to build on a career-best 19-goal season that also saw him provide some much-needed defensive consciousness to Detroit. The best offensive campaigns of his eight-year career have come in his last two, so the key for continued success will likely be to ensure he has linemates who can play to his strengths.

Andrew Copp [C/LW]

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 203
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 79 13 20 33 -2 26 0.42
Career 729 116 196 312 63 159 0.43
Forecast 80 12 18 30 - - 0.38

The Michigan native saw his average ice time drop by nearly two minutes in 2023-24 after he was moved from a second-line role to centering the third line. He ended up scoring four more goals but dropped from 33 assists in 2022-23 to just 20. However, Copp's impact is not only measured just in points; his line can shut opponents down.

Alex DeBrincat [LW/RW]

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 5-7
  • Wt: 165
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 82 27 40 67 1 34 0.82
Career 643 267 273 540 -58 183 0.84
Forecast 82 34 38 72 - - 0.88

The Red Wings were hoping for more offense from the two-time 41-goal scorer but his totals in Detroit were almost identical to his previous season (in Ottawa). However, his overall game took a major step forward, and he scored three clutch goals in the final week of the regular season during the Wings' failed push for a playoff spot.

Christian Fischer [RW]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 212
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 79 5 14 19 0 36 0.24
Career 523 62 75 137 -66 144 0.26
Forecast 72 4 10 14 - - 0.19

Much of Fischer's value does not show up on the scoresheet. He has never provided a lot of offense, and his scoring numbers went down last season. However, he is the kind of bottom-six forechecking forward that coaches love. The 27-year-old could make life miserable for opponents in their own zone and hold his own on a shutdown line.

Patrick Kane [RW]

  • Age: 35
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 177
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 50 20 27 47 -5 16 0.94
Career 1322 497 865 1362 -8 460 1.03
Forecast 77 26 42 68 - - 0.88

The future Hall of Famer showed no ill effects from the hip resurfacing surgery that cost him the first third of last season, averaging nearly a point per game for Detroit in '23-24. This campaign, the veteran right-winger could reach the 500-goal mark if he stays healthy. At 35, Kane remains one of the NHL's most dynamic playmakers.

Marco Kasper [W/C]

  • Age: 20
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 183
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
AHL 71 14 21 35 9 30 0.49
Career 107 22 18 40 -12 57 0.37
Forecast 24 3 7 10 - - 0.42

The eighth player drafted in 2022 has already accumulated 108 SHL and 71 AHL games on his resume, plus one with the Red Wings ('22-23). The 20-year-old is patient with the puck, plays a well-rounded game and can make plays. Although not a game-breaking scorer, Kasper is smart, makes few mistakes with the puck and can kill penalties.

Dylan Larkin [C]

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 198
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 68 33 36 69 5 39 1.01
Career 763 257 350 607 -95 473 0.80
Forecast 75 35 41 76 - - 1.01

Detroit's captain is coming off a career-high 33 goals last campaign, and he was also a point-per-game player for the first time in his NHL career, despite missing a total of 14 games. Always a threat to score because of his wheels, Larkin gets loads of power-play minutes (3:11 PP TOI/GP in '23-24), and his two-way game has improved.

Tyler Motte [C/W]

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 192
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
TB 69 6 3 9 -8 28 0.13
Career 455 53 46 99 -38 116 0.22
Forecast 71 4 4 8 - - 0.11

The 29-year-old's speed has kept him employed in the NHL. The versatile forward is both quick and fast, will pressure the puck on the forecheck, and can kill penalties well and create turnovers. What he has not been able to do is generate offense–he has yet to garner double figures in goals or exceed 19 points in his eight campaigns.

Michael Rasmussen [LW/C]

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-6
  • Wt: 220
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 75 13 20 33 8 47 0.44
Career 414 64 84 148 -44 239 0.36
Forecast 76 15 21 36 - - 0.47

At 25, Rasmussen seems to have found his niche as a complementary forward who can chip in 10-15 goals and 30-35 points. He takes a regular turn on the penalty kill but sees little power-play ice time. However, on a Red Wings squad that plays an offense-first style, a defense-first guy like Rasmussen is a useful player to have around.

Lucas Raymond [RW]

  • Age: 22
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 182
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 82 31 41 72 -12 30 0.88
Career 347 108 177 285 -71 92 0.82
Forecast 81 36 42 78 - - 0.96

Detroit's top pick (No. 4 overall) in 2020 is coming off his best season, and there are signs he still has room for improvement. Not only did Raymond surpass 30 goals and 70 points for the first time in 2023-24, he saved his best performances for the stretch drive, scoring seven goals and adding five assists in the final eight games.

Vladimir Tarasenko [RW/LW]

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 219
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ott/Fla 76 23 32 55 13 12 0.72
Career 853 306 366 672 55 203 0.79
Forecast 70 16 24 40 - - 0.57

The 32-year-old is no longer the six-time 30-goal scorer he was in his 20s. But he remains a useful scorer, albeit in a slightly different role that involves less ice time. Tarasenko still has the chops to play higher up in the lineup if needed, but he is more likely to be a productive third-line winger who gets some power-play time.

Joe Veleno [C/W]

  • Age: 24
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 201
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 80 12 16 28 -16 25 0.35
Career 329 39 43 82 -75 111 0.25
Forecast 81 10 13 23 - - 0.28

At 24, Veleno is coming off his best offensive output in '23-24–albeit one in which he did not reach either 15 goals or 30 points. A natural pivot who can also play wing, Veleno finished with a career-worst minus-16 rating in just under 14 minutes of ice time per game. The good news? He is starting to see more time on the power play.

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Ben Chiarot

  • Age: 33
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 224
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 77 5 15 20 -4 56 0.26
Career 752 49 129 178 -62 561 0.24
Forecast 72 2 9 11 - - 0.15

Old-school hockey fans like Chiarot because he is fast and physical. The more analytically minded dislike the underlying numbers that suggest he spends too much time in the defensive zone. He was much steadier last season than in '22-23, and his willingness to sacrifice his body helps make up for some of the mistakes in his own zone.

Simon Edvinsson

  • Age: 21
  • Ht: 6-6
  • Wt: 209
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 16 1 1 2 0 4 0.13
Career 129 13 31 44 9 125 0.34
Forecast 77 6 24 30 - - 0.39

The 6'6'' Edvinsson has had two solid AHL seasons (plus a couple of NHL stints), which have given him time to clean up his shortcomings and develop his shot (not booming, but low and hard). The No. 6 pick in the 2021 draft knows how to use his size to defend, plays well in transition and has unusually soft hands for a big defenseman.

Erik Gustafsson

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 197
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
NYR 76 6 25 31 3 35 0.41
Career 516 47 193 240 -16 163 0.47
Forecast 73 5 20 25 - - 0.34

For most of last season, Gustafsson did what he does best: provide offense from a bottom-pairing defenseman role and the power play. His defensive play improved, helping him earn more ice time. His offense disappeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs (one assist in his final 14 games), when he had to play more minutes because of injuries.

Justin Holl

  • Age: 32
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 210
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 38 0 5 5 8 22 0.13
Career 396 13 82 95 59 188 0.24
Forecast 42 1 6 7 - - 0.17

The 32-year-old veteran saw his game fall off a cliff after signing with the Red Wings. He spent much of last campaign as a healthy scratch, played in less than half of Detroit's contests and saw his average ice time drop by more than five minutes per game. When the Wings had a healthy defense corps, Holl was usually the odd man out.

Jeff Petry

  • Age: 36
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 208
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 73 3 21 24 -7 39 0.33
Career 1007 96 295 391 -132 416 0.39
Forecast 68 3 15 18 - - 0.26

The son of former baseball pitcher Dan Petry remains a serviceable NHL defenseman as he nears his 37th birthday. Petry's offensive totals have dropped off from when he produced four straight seasons of double figures in goals (2017-18 to 2020-21), and he registered his lowest average time on ice per game last campaign (18:48 TOI/GP).

Moritz Seider

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 205
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Det 82 9 33 42 -7 51 0.51
Career 357 33 169 202 -22 196 0.57
Forecast 82 10 42 52 - - 0.63

Two-way Seider is a foundational defenseman who devours minutes (22:22 TOI/GP in '23-24), plays a lot on both special teams, is willing to give up his body (212 blocked shots, second in the NHL) and contributes very good overall numbers. He is a rearguard the Red Wings are building around; he should improve even more with experience.

Alex Lyon

  • Age: 31
  • Ht: 6-1
  • Wt: 196
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Det 44 21 18 5 2 3.05 0.904
Career 126 54 44 14 5 3.01 0.902
Forecast 34 17 - - 1 3.02 0.903

Last season, Lyon's 44 appearances were more than he had played in his previous six NHL seasons combined. His hot play in January and February helped the Red Wings surge into what looked like an insurmountable lead in the playoff chase; his late-season fade (0-8-2 from February 29-March 30) may have cost the Wings a postseason berth.

Cam Talbot

  • Age: 37
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 202
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
LA 54 27 20 6 3 2.5 0.913
Career 549 275 199 49 33 2.67 0.912
Forecast 38 19 - - 1 2.89 0.902

Take out a miserable 0-6-2 showing last January and Talbot would have enjoyed an even better 2023-24 season. He went 13-7-1 after the All-Star break, and his goals-against average (2.50) was his best mark since 2016-17; he also sported three shutouts. However, a 54-game workload in '23-24 might have been too much at his advanced age.