Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat's time as longtime line mates ended by the Detroit Red Wings due to new issues
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat had some success together a year ago, but now new issues have caused them to breakup in Detroit.
The Detroit Red Wings are off to a solid start thus far in 2024/25, and after a solid off-season, this is a team that believes they are ready to finally end their eight year Stanley Cup Playoffs drought. One of the things that helped that belief was the combination of Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane who leaned on each other a year ago, to great success, with their chemistry dating back to their days as Chicago Blackhawks teammates.
Unfortunately, things aren't working in 2024/25, and after just two games, the team have officially made a change, demoting DeBrincat to the PP2, while pushing J.T. Compher to the top group.
Before the season began, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde noted that there could be plenty of changes to the powerplay, as the group is nowhere near a finished product, with this being an example of a very surprise change as they have struggled to dominate early in the year.
In 2024/25, the Red Wings powerplay percentage sits at just 14.3%, one of the worst in the entire NHL, and while this wasn't the expected move, something certainly needed to change. Given those comments, it doesn't mean that they won't ever play together again moving forward, as this team will certainly grow and develop throughout the year, but the team are now trying a big change that could lead to major success.
