Red Wings Review: JT Compher

Detroit Hockey Now will be looking back at the seasons turned in by every Detroit Red Wings player who played at least 20 games during the 2024-25 NHL campaign. We’ll assess what went right, what aspects were lacking from their game and what the future holds for them in Detroit. Today, we look at center JT Compher.

Compher’s Red Wings Season

After two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, it’s still hard to decipher what JT Compher is to the team. However, what’s abundantly clear is what he isn’t – a solution to the team’s seemingly never-ending search for a consistent No. 2 center.

The Red Wings were signing Compher as a UFA in 2023. They were giving him a five-year, $25.5 million contract. That’s an AAV of $5.1 million. Detroit was penciling in Compher as the man in the middle on the second line. The fact of the matter is that he’s much better-suited for a role as a No. 3 center. That’s where he’s been most effective during his NHL career.

JT Compher sneakily makes it 2-0 off the pipe going top corner 🐙🚨#LGRW #RedWings pic.twitter.com/RFmnLTYbQC

— Hockeytown Rundown (@HockeytownRD) April 17, 2025

His first campaign with Detroit was a solid one. Compher scored 19 goals, a career high. His 48 points where a slight dropoff from the personal best of 52 he’d had with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022-23.

The sophomore jinx impacted Compher significantly during his second season with the Red Wings. Compher’s goal output fell to 11. His point total of 32 was his lowest in a full season since 2019-20. With the emergence of Marco Kasper, Compher found himself slotted in as the No. 3 and sometimes No. 4 center on the depth chart.

Compher endured a goalless drought of 21 games and two separate stints of 11 games without a goal.

What He Does Well

“I pride myself on a lot more than just scoring goals,” Compher said.

Certainly, there are other elements to Compher’s game. He can work a net front on the power play. The right shot was finishing second on the team in faceoffs taken (1,013).

“The 200-foot game and everything else that he brings, if he’s doing that and he chips in with some goals and points, which he has to do as well, then we got a real good player,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “If he’s just trying to score and he omits all the other stuff, we’re probably in trouble. And I think he knows that.”

Improvements That Could Be Implemented

With Compher, it’s all about his wheels. And when the wheels come off, his game hits a wall and crashes and burns.

“When J.T. isn’t skating as much, he just plays in the middle of the rink,” McLellan said. “When he’s skating, he’s getting to corners and back into the middle of the rink. He’s getting in on the forecheck, creating turnovers, defending well. He plays an authoritative-type game instead of safe game. ”

This empty net miss from J.T. Compher may have cost the Red Wings their playoff hopes 😵😬 pic.twitter.com/8B7u9es0to

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 9, 2025

Compher was eighth on the team in faceoff win percentage (45.1%). He was 23rd on the club in hits per game (1.37) and 12th in blocked shots per game (3.02).

Compher’s Red Wings Future

With three more years on his deal, there’s no way the Red Wings are going to be moving on from Compher. He’s making too much money to be traded and would cause too much of a cap hit to figure in a buyout.

Compher is best served and will also serve the team the best as a bottom-six forward. The problem is, at $5.1 million per season, he’s not being paid like a role player.