For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone:  Mitchell Stephens, Turner Elson, Riley Barber, Marc Staal, Olli Juolevi, Dan Renouf, Ryan Murphy, Thomas Greiss, Calvin Pickard, Filip Larsson, Kaden Fulcher

Incoming: David Perron, Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubalik, Matt Luff, Austin Czarnik, Olli Maatta, Robert Hagg, Mark Pysyk, Ville Husso

Impact of changes: Detroit made some significant upgrades this offseason, essentially signing an entire second line with Perron, Copp and Kubalik. Perron in particular brings great power-play prowess, averaging 25 power-play points over his past three seasons with St. Louis and should be a valuable contributor and slot immediately onto the top unit. Copp had a slower year with Winnipeg during the first three quarters of the season, posting only 32 points in 55 games for a 0.58 point per game pace. However, when he was traded to the New York Rangers and lined up alongside Artemi Panarin he exploded for double that previous output. Now with Detroit, he will not have anyone of Panarin's calibre to play alongside and as a result will likely produce closer to his numbers with Winnipeg. Kubalik on the other hand stands to potentially gain ice time with an increased role in Detroit and build upon the promise he has shown with his first two seasons in the league when he had a 56 and 55 point pace.

Perhaps the biggest upgrade Detroit made was in moving on from Thomas Greiss and replacing him with one of the hotter commodities on the offseason market in Ville Husso; then promptly signing him to a three-year deal for $4.75M a season. Husso appeared as an NHL starter seemingly out of nowhere and surprised many by challenging a struggling Jordan Binnington during the season. In the end he played 40 games and posted great numbers:

25 Wins, 2.56 GAA, 0.919 SV% and a QS% of 60.

Compared to Greiss who shared time with Alex Nedeljkovic starting 31 games and finished with this:

10 Wins, 3.66 GAA, 0.891 SV% and 45.2 QS%.

Husso will surely solidify the net and is likely to receive 50-60 starts assuming he can handle the workload with Nedjlkovic serving as a steady backup. The question is how much of an impact moving from a cup contending team such as St. Louis to a rebuilding squad in Detroit will have on Husso's numbers. With only 67 games played over his entire young career the sample size is too small to assess how he will perform, but replicating his stellar play with St. Louis seems unlikely.

Ready for Full Time: Detroit has a few prospects knocking on the door that could see significant time with the team as early as this year. Jonatan Berggren is very close after having posted the second-most assists in history by any U21 player in the SHL. He followed that up by posting 64 points in 70 games in the AHL and get a long look this year. Taro Hirose has had time with the NHL, posting 20 points through 57 games played throughout an up and down pro career. He has teased fantasy owners in the past and is on a make it or break it year as he set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Simon Edvinsson is the next big defensemen coming up through the pipes that could challenge for a spot this season. He is a 6'5, 200+ pound 19-year-old who is dangerous offensively and will make his North American debut this season, either in the AHL or the NHL. Jared McIsaac is another defenseman on the cusp, although since his 2020-2021 season in Liiga he has ran into some injury troubles and only last season got back up to speed. He is expected to get a look with the team but may be more likely for full-time next season. Finally, William Wallinder produced excellent results in the SHL as a 19-year-old and should also receive a brief stint in the NHL with the potential to get a longer stay but as with McIsaac is more likely a bet for full-time next season.

Fantasy Outlook: Overall Detroit made solid additions to the roster by adding Perron and Copp who should provide a boost to a bottom six power-play and depth to the roster while Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi continue to build off the excellent near point-per-game seasons the two of them produced last year. This along with a full season from Jakub Vrana and continued progress from Lucas Raymond and Filip Zadina should mean that Detroit is starting to put together a formidable top six.

The real story was the emergence of Moritz Seider who entered the league and put up 50 points in 82 games on his way to the Calder Trophy. His ascension has surely escalated the rebuild process and brought fantasy relevance and excitement back to Detroit. Along with Edvinsson and Wallinder knocking on the door, this is a team that will soon have an enviable defense corps.

In goal we have Husso taking the reins with Nedeljkovic all but certain to serve as the backup. This is on paper a good tandem to have and while Husso is likely to receive a steady workload, the team defense is lacking what he had in St. Louis. Expect to see a drop in his numbers.

Grade: C+ (last year was C)