With the regular season in full swing for the Detroit Red Wings, there are plenty of player performances to keep an eye on – what better way is there to keep track than a “stock market” of Detroit’s roster?
We’ll treat player performances as the primary indicator of “stock value” – if a player has a strong week, his price is high; if he has a rough one, his stock is lower. “Buying” stock in a player indicates trust in their ability to either keep their good performance going, or improve, while “selling” means the opposite.
With the explanation out the way, let’s hop right into our first stock market report.
Buy
Lucas Raymond – The old adage in the stock market is buy low, sell high. Ignore that rule for Lucas Raymond. He leads all rookie scoring in the NHL with four goals and three assists (three of those goals were in a single game against the Chicago Blackhawks) and is in serious contention for the Calder Trophy, so his stock is going to be pretty pricy at the moment. But if he keeps trending up like this, you better invest while you can, because it’s going to get a lot pricier.
Moritz Seider – Like Raymond, the prices for Seider stock are a bit high right now, but if he continues his current trajectory, it’ll be worth it. The German is the best defenseman in Detroit right now, leading Detroit’s defensemen in points (often earned as the power play quarterback) and illustrating an impressive defensive skillset, especially considering his age. Both of the Red Wings rookies could be in serious consideration for the Calder Trophy late in the season; it might be a solid idea to pick up the stock while it’s still affordable.
Filip Zadina – Zadina has had a decent start to the season, netting a goal and tacking on two assists through six games. Now, this isn’t as flashy as the previous two picks, but it might have some sneaky good value: get the stock while the price is relatively low. Everyone is just waiting for that breakout for Zadina, and it could come at any point this season. Get your Zadina stock while it’s still relatively cheap, because it could shoot up at any moment.
Sell
Filip Hronek – One of the top-pairing defensemen for Detroit has gone from leading the team in points last season and being consistently on the ice during the game’s most important moments (power play, final moments of a one point game) to two straight healthy scratches. He’s had a rough start paired with Danny DeKeyser, which isn’t promising considering last year’s performance wasn’t exactly stellar. There’s still time for Hronek to turn it around – he’s still just 23 years old. But just to be safe, this is a risky stock that you’re gonna want to move on from while it still holds value.
Danny DeKeyser – Well, unfortunately, it looks like this will be DeKeyser’s last season in Detroit. The road to recovery from back surgery has been a brutal one for the veteran defenseman and it doesn’t seem as though the offseason helped much. Those who were holding out hope for a turnaround should probably just rip off the band-aid now and sell this stock while you still can.
Hold
Michael Rasmussen – Based on my Twitter feed, I think this might be a controversial opinion, but I haven’t given up on Rasmussen just yet. Yes, Rasmussen has had a rough showing through six games, failing to produce offensively and losing too many puck battles. However, he had a slow start last season – in fact, he found himself back in Grand Rapids for seven games. Once he made it to the main roster, he began to illustrate development through improved skating and improved frame-usage (setting screens and winning puck battles with his 6-foot-6 frame). It’s just been six games so far – give him a bit more time to improve and develop. While it hasn’t been a great start to the season, hold on to the Rasmussen stock – for now.