Detroit Red Wings
Petry Will Find it Hard to Get Back Into Red Wings Lineup
Johansson has usurped Petry’s top-four role

The latest update on the walking wounded of the Detroit Red Wings is not immediately encouraging.
Forwards Patrick Kane and Tyler Motte both remain out with upper-body injuries and won’t play Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kane (day-to-day) is the closest to returning to action.
Meanwhile, defenseman Jeff Petry (undisclosed injury) didn’t even skate on Friday.
“He’s on a schedule,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “He had a good skate yesterday, treatment today.
“I’m not sure what’s on the program for him (Saturday), but all part of the schedule.”
ALBERT JOHANSSON FIRST NHL GOAL! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/D3xGhWflBD
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2025
What might not be on the schedule for Petry once he’s healthy is a lot of ice time on the Detroit defense.
In the 10 games that Petry has missed, his replacement, rookie Albert Johansson, hasn’t missed a beat. Since sliding in alongside Simon Edvinsson in Detroit’s second defense pairing, Johansson’s combination of hockey sense, competitiveness and steadiness has been turning heads among the Red Wings coaching staff.
“Probably the biggest surprise for me to date is Albert,” McLellan admitted. “I knew nothing about Albert. We get here and he’s kind of parked on the shelf and everybody’s playing and we’re trying to figure players out.
“I think his rise has been remarkable. He’s played steady in all three zones. There’s some fierceness in his game. When he gets engaged with bodies and battles, he wins a lot of them. He’s not the biggest guy.
“So we talk about him in the locker room all the time. We’re so happy we have him.”
Where Does Petry Fit In With Red Wings?
Of course, that leads to another pertinent question. When he regains his health, where does Petry fit into the picture?
Historically, hockey tradition states that a player can’t lose his job due to injury. It’s supposed to be waiting for him once he’s healthy.
#RedWings skate before facing Canadiens tonight (7, @FanDuelSN_DET). Petry, out since Jan. 2, and Motte, who missed the trip, are skating. pic.twitter.com/q0EiKmkUK6
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 23, 2025
Realistically, unless Johansson’s form suddenly goes south, there’s no way Petry is getting back into the Detroit top four rearguards.
“From my perspective, I don’t see it as being a problem,” McLellan said regarding what happens to Johansson when Petry is back. “I think (Johansson) keeps on playing, in my opinion. But it can change. He can’t give any of his game back because he’s raised the bar so high.
“Our expectations are going up for him. I don’t think it’s a problem. I think it’s a luxury more than a problem.”
More than likely, when he’s back in the picture, Petry is going to find himself battling with Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson for ice time in the Red Wings’ third pairing.
I think Petry is a third pair defenseman at this point. We have to remember he’s 37 and on the last leg of his career. I believe with reduced minutes, his play will improve. Holl shouldn’t see the ice unless absolutely necessary. The Red Wings draft and development teams are delivering solid players. They come in ready for the NHL with well-rounded games.
I have to disagree with you. If they were NHL ready they wouldn’t be spending 3-4 years in GR if we even see them at all. We haven’t really seen any round 2-7 draft picks from the last five years.
Spending a few years is normal in hockey outside of like top 2-3 picks. You dont draft players at 18 expecting them to be NHL ready. They develop for a few years and hopefully start pushing. Our first round picks since GMSY have been really good. Later rounders have been more hit and miss but that’s also how hockey works with anything after 1st round.
Mind you, 1st rounders have approx. 67% chance of making it, 2nd rounders have less than 25% of making it to the NHL with 3rd rounders about half of that, and it goes down exponentially each round.
You have ALJO (late 2nd), and Soderblom (6th round) currently in the lineup who have outperformed their draft place. There are a ton of additional later picks that have a REAL chance like Lombardi, Mazur, Finnie, Wallinder, Augustine, Kiiskinen (trade but still a 3rd rder i think), Buchnelikov, etc. Long list and someone like Buch honestly could be a legit star with how good he looks in the KHL.
Then you already have Ray, Seider, Edvinnson, Kasper, all more recent 1st rounders, as regulars, and id go as far as to say difference makers.
This is exceptional drafting and in time will continue to be an even longer list as the Danielsons, ASPs, MBN, Cossa, etc, are ready. The kids are coming and the future is bright despite it not being as quick as you would like. That’s how it goes.
He said they come in NHL ready. That’s due to the time they get to spend developing in the AHL for 3-4 years. Statistically speaking making the NHL as a 2nd round picks is only about 17% and it goes down even more. There’s only about 60 players per draft class that make it to 100 games in the NHL. So it’s getting harder and harder to draft
Nice to see a coach play younger players instead of relying on veterans who keep making mistakes over and over. At least Johansson might learn from his mistakes, Petry has proven he’ll continue to be a liability. Hopefully as the season goes on we’ll see more of this with players coming up from GR to get a chance to show if they are better than the guys currently at the bottom of the Wings roster.
Johansson blocked a bunch of shots as the Wings were making one goal stand up for nearly 3 periods vs a team that doesnt get shut out. As McLellan points out a stingy D allows the hot shot Wings some confidence in low scoring games. A necessary part of growing a playoff-ready team.