Red Wings add veterans Talbot, Tarasenko to complement young core

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Detroit Red Wings:

2023-24 season: 41-32-9, fifth in Atlantic Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Cam Talbot, G: The Red Wings signed the 37-year-old to a two-year, $5 million contract on July 1. He bounced back from a rough 2022-23 with the Ottawa Senators by going 27-20-6 with a .913 save percentage to help the Los Angeles Kings qualify for the playoffs and will battle for the starting job with Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and Jack Campbell. … Vladimir Tarasenko, F: The Red Wings filled their need for another top-six scorer with a two-time Stanley Cup champion. At 32 years old, Tarasenko isn’t the same player who averaged 36.4 goals and 71.2 points a season for the St. Louis Blues between 2014-19, but he scored 23 goals last season between the Senators and Panthers, then had five more during Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup. … Tyler Motte, F: For the third straight season, one of Dylan Larkin’s college teammates from the University of Michigan was added in free agency. The 29-year-old should be a solid defensive presence among Detroit’s bottom-six forwards. He had nine points (six goals, three assists) in 69 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. … Erik Gustafsson, D: The 32-year-old had 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 76 games for the New York Rangers last season and could run the second power-play unit.

Key departures

Shayne Gostisbehere, D: Gostisbehere led Detroit with 46 assists last season, including 27 on the power play, and scored 10 goals. He signed a three-year, $9.6 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1. … David Perron, F: The 36-year-old scored 17 goals and can still change games with his forechecking. He was also a key member of the team’s leadership group. Perron signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Senators on July 1. … Jake Walman, D: Walman was traded to the San Jose Sharks on June 25; he has scored 21 goals over the past two seasons. … Daniel Sprong, F: Sprong has been an unrestricted free agent since July 1. He scored 18 goals last season after scoring 21 for the Seattle Kraken in 2022-23.

On the cusp

Jonatan Berggren, F: The 23-year-old showed promise as a rookie in 2022-23, getting 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) in 67 games, but he spent most of last season with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. General manager Steve Yzerman is counting on Berggren to win a roster spot in training camp. … Albert Johansson, D:  The 23-year-old had 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 66 games last season, his second with Grand Rapids. ... Marco Kasper, F: The No. 8 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Kasper, who turned 20 in April, had 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 71 games last season with Grand Rapids. … Carter Mazur, F: The 22-year-old had 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 60 games for Grand Rapids last season. He was a third-round pick (No. 70) in 2021.

What they still need

With Tarasenko joining Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond, the Red Wings have a lot of scoring potential on their top two lines, but these four players are not known as strong defensive forwards. That’s going to put a lot of pressure on Larkin and J.T. Compher to forecheck and retrieve pucks. Detroit also needs a strong defensive defenseman for its second pair. Moritz Seider faced the League’s toughest competition last season, which cost him on the offensive end. A stay-at-home veteran could take much of that pressure off him.

They said it

“We would love to make the playoffs next year -- we would have loved to have made the playoffs last year -- but ultimately I’m still trying to put together that core of young guys that is going to be together and start to creep into the playoffs and hang around in the playoffs and maybe eventually win. That’s the long-term plan and we’ll stick to it.” -- general manager Steve Yzerman

Fantasy focus

Tarasenko was a key contributor during Florida’s Stanley Cup run, but he ranked 129th in the NHL in points per game (0.72) during the regular season. He has reached a high fantasy gear in the past, having 40 goals in 2015-16 and 82 points in 2021-22 with the Blues. Tarasenko could be the missing piece to get the Red Wings back to the playoffs. He should be considered a fantasy bounce-back candidate with a high likelihood of playing on a line and power-play unit with one or two elite forwards. -- Pete Jensen

Projected lineup

Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Larkin -- Lucas Raymond

Vladimir Tarasenko -- J.T. Compher -- Patrick Kane

Michael Rasmussen -- Andrew Copp -- Christian Fischer

Tyler Motte -- Joe Veleno -- Jonatan Berggren

Ben Chiarot -- Moritz Seider

Simon Edvinsson -- Jeff Petry

Olli Maatta -- Erik Gustafsson

Cam Talbot

Alex Lyon