3 questions facing Detroit Red Wings

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Detroit Red Wings.

1. Who will emerge in goal?

The Red Wings didn’t intend to carry three goalies last season. General manager Steve Yzerman said they debated putting one on waivers, but they decided to wait and didn’t do it.

“We were glad we didn’t,” he said.

Ville Husso ended up playing only 19 games due to multiple lower-body injuries. Detroit leaned on Alex Lyon and James Reimer.

Now they will come to training camp with Husso, Lyon and Cam Talbot, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract July 1. The 37-year-old played 54 games (52 starts) for the Los Angeles Kings last season, going 27-20-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and three shutouts.

“We’ll see how Ville’s health is in training camp,” Yzerman said. “We expect him to be 100 percent and ready to go, and then we’ll do what we did last year. We’ll play it by ear. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”

2. Can the Red Wings improve defensively?

The biggest problem for Detroit last season was team defense. The Red Wings ranked 24th in goals against per game (3.33).

They hope Talbot will help in goal. They added forward Tyler Motte to help in the bottom six. A big question is how two rookie defensemen -- Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson -- will perform. Edvinsson, the No. 6 pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, is expected to play regularly, and Johansson, a second-round pick (No. 60) in 2019, is expected to contribute at some point.

But in the end, it will be on the coaches and the players as a group to figure out how to possess the puck more and keep it out of the net better.

“Obviously, we feel we can be a better group defensively as well,” forward Patrick Kane said. “That’s always a key component to winning and getting into playoffs, and that’s on everyone, right? Not just the guys that are in that role, but everyone needs to play better defensively, so I’m sure we’ll go through that as a team and how we want to play in those situations.”

3. Can Kane regain even more of his form?

Kane proved he could still play after major hip surgery by producing 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists) in 50 games last season, a big reason Detroit was in contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs until the final game.

But he said he was “still building strength and just kind of understanding how the hip was going to work.” He pointed out that he had only two power-play goals.

Now the 35-year-old is enjoying a normal offseason of preparation and will have a full training camp with the Red Wings.

“Feeling good, feeling fresh,” he said. “I think my goal is to take it to another level next year too.”