Detroit Red Wings eliminated: 3 things they need to do in offseason

The Detroit Red WIngs have once again been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Fret not Red Wings fans, as there’s hope on the horizon. This season was a revamp year for the Red Wings, and to be fair, they weren’t nearly as bad as in years past. There’s hope that the Red Wings can compete for the Stanley Cup next season if they make the right moves in the offseason.

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What should Detroit Red Wings do in off-season?

Here are three things:

#1 Acquire depth

The Detroit Red Wings have plenty of top-end talent that should be enough to compete for a playoff spot. WIth players like Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper anchoring the forward lines, and some more prospects, the Red Wings can out-talent a lot of teams in the NHL.

The problem comes in the bottom six, where the Red Wings are sorely lacking. The Red Wings either need to develop their young depth players into more NHL talent, or go out and acquire some veterans to fill that void. The time for losing in Detroit is over.

#2 Find chemistry between young stars

The Detroit Red Wings have some of the best young talent in the NHL. Now they have to figure out how they can all fit together. The Red WIngs have the benefit of Kasper and Lucas Raymond on their roster, and both will have to continue to develop into team leaders and consistent scorers.

Nearly half the Red Wings roster right now are on entry level contracts. That amount of youth is nearly unseen across the rest of the NHL, and should be exciting for the Detroit coaches and front office. If the Red Wings find the right combination of players in the right lines to be productive, they will have a young monster to deal with for teams around the NHL.

#3 Find a starter in net

The Detroit Red Wings need to find a consistent goaltender. This season it was Ville Husso, but Husso struggled with consistency and is prone to hot and cold streaks. The Red Wings have been able to turn to Magnus Hellberg in the midst of Husso cold streaks, but Detroit needs to re-evaluate what’s going on in the net.

The best case scenario for the Red Wings would be acquiring or developing their own prospects as goaltenders who would be on a similar talent pathway as the rest of their team. If Husso needs to carry that load in the aggregate, he’s more than reliable.