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Red Wings Berggren Getting Chances, Making Most of Them

Swedish forward scores in win over Penguins

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3 weeks ago

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Jonatan Berggren, Red Wings
The Red Wings believe Jonatan Berggren will grow into a steady offensive contributor with more opportunity.

All his hockey career, Detroit Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren has been a finisher. He’s put the puck in the net, delivered offense to his club.

He certainly was that guy upon first arrival in Detroit. Berggren would net 17 goals though his first 79 NHL games. However, there was a caveat.

It was abundantly clear that Berggren wasn’t among the favorites of then Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde. Any hint of praise toward Berggren from Lalonde would usually be followed by some form of whataboutism, pointing out an error he’d made during the game.

The arrival of Todd McLellan as Lalonde’s replacement is granting a fresh start to everyone wearing the winged wheel, Berggren included.

“He seems to be a sturdy, solid, good puck protector,” McLellan said. “I think he’s got some offensive instincts in mind.”

Opportunity is knocking for him. And on New Year’s Eve, Berggren was ringing out the old and welcoming the new by potting a beauty of a goal to open the scoring in Detroit’s 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Getting behind the Pittsburgh defense, Berggen took a stretch pass from Vladimir Tarasenko in stride and roofed it on the glove side behind Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

“I forgot to change, so I was a little bit late,” Berggren sheepishly admitted. “So Vladi saw me coming there, so it’s a little bit luck. But of course, then Vlad make a really good pass, and, yeah, I was lucky to score.”

Red Wings Berggren Can Feel Good

To hear McLellan describe Berggren’s tally, luck had nothing to do with it.

“I think Bergey’s played pretty well in the three games since I’ve been here,” McLellan said. “But there has to be a reward for all the work you put in at some point.

“If he’s going to be an offensive guy, they feel like they have to score to validate some of the things they’re doing. And he can drive home tonight and feel good about that.

“But he also raised the bar now and we’ll continue to challenge him. That’s the game we need every night now. He played a little more free, finished well. He did the things that I saw him do earlier in the first two games along the boards and the important stuff. But the offense came out tonight.”

McLellan understands how circumstances can overwhelm a young player like Berggren and sap the skill out of their game.

“Sometimes those players, they want to stay and play in the NHL, so they’re afraid to make mistakes and they play a little more conservative,” McLellan said. “I’d like to see him just turn himself loose a little bit, make mistakes. We’ll help you. It’s okay. But bring your complete tool set to every game.”

Three games into McLellan’s tenure, there’s signs that Berggren is coming out of his shell. And he’s giving every indication that he’s going to want . . . no, demand more.

“I want to play many minutes, so it’s always fun to play a lot of minutes,” Berggren said. “But when I get more minutes, you need to play.

“It’s more pressure on you, and I kind of like it. So, yeah, just keep going.”

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