Detroit Red Wings

The Daily: Red Wings Missed ‘Ghost’ A Bit; Marchand Likes DQ

Published

3 weeks ago

May 26, 2025

Shayne Gostisbehere's move to Carolina had paid off for him (Photo by Michael Caples)

As we watch the Eastern Conference Final, it feels as if the Red Wings didn’t miss Shayne Gostisbehere as much as fans thought they would.

The Detroit Red Wings tried to re-sign defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere last summer but they couldn’t agree on the terms of the deal. The 32-year-old Gostisbehere accepted a three-year deal from the Carolina Hurricanes for $3.2 million per season. The third year was the sticking point in Red Wings negotiations.

Going to Carolina paid off for the Florida native. He’s playing in the conference final, while the Red Wings are well into their golf season.

Gostisbehere’s offensive skill would have undoubtedly helped Detroit’s below average offense. He didn’t generate as much offense for Carolina as he did last season. But only 19 other NHL defensemen had more than his 36 assists. Moritz Seider posted 38 assists for Detroit and Simon Edvinsson was the Detroit defenseman closest to him at 24.

What concerned the Red Wings most about losing Gostisbehere was how it might hurt the power play. But Detroit’s power play was better this season, ranking fourth in the NHL at 27%. With Gostisbehere, it was ninth at 23% in 2023-24.

And if you are watching the Hurricanes in the playoffs you see what Detroit fans saw last season. Gostisbehere regularly helps offensively and often plays too loose defensively. Gostisbehere owns a team-worst minus-9 plus minus in the postseason. Five other Carolina defensemen are even or plus. Gostisbehere is minus-4 in his first three games against Florida. He is playing 17 to 18 minutes per game.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Three Red Wings are bringing home a medal from the World Championships. At least one Detroit player has earned a medal from the tournament each year since 2018.

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Detroit defenseman Erik Gustafsson was miffed over the Swedish coaching decision to demote him to No. 7 defenseman. After that story broke, Gustafsson played the second-most minutes (19:44) on the Swedish defense. He was minus-1 in a 6-2 win against Denmark.

Red Wings Extra

Lucas Raymond ended the World Championships as the tournament’s 11th scorer with five goals and six assists for 11 points. He was tied for third in plus-minus (plus-9). Marco Kasper led Austria in minutes per game (20:44) and plus-minus (plus-8). He was tied for the team scoring lead with four goals and three assists for seven points. Eduards Tralmaks, signed by the Red Wings recently as a free agent, led the Latvian team with seven points in seven games. Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider was the focal point of the Germany, leading the team in minutes played per game (24:00).