Red Wings 2022-23 Wrap-Up: Gustav Lindstrom

DETROIT -- Gustav Lindstrom's second full NHL campaign with the Detroit Red Wings was a valuable learning experience.

Lindstrom posted career highs in games played (63), assists (12) and points (13) in the 2021-22 season. But a bevy of free-agent signings last summer bolstered the club's blue-line depth, pushing the 24-year-old Swedish defenseman out of the lineup as a healthy scratch several times throughout the year.

"It was hard sometimes," Lindstrom said. "It's not easy when you play one game and then sit for a while, but I did my best to stay ready when I got the chance."

In 36 games this season, the 6-foot-2, 186-pound blueliner had one goal and seven assists. Lindstrom has compiled 25 points in 128 career NHL games.

"You learn from everything," he said. "I had never been in this situation before."

Detroit defensemen combined for 168 points in 2022-23, the most since the Red Wings led the league with 196 points in 2010-11.

"The d-core was different this year and certainly better," Lindstrom said. "As a group, we played better. But at the same time, it wasn't just the defense. It was everyone in the system. We played the right way."

Selected by Detroit in the second round (38th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Lindstrom said the Red Wings are building a "winning culture."

"We were close before the trade deadline and even after that, we stayed competitive," said Lindstrom, who enters this summer as an unrestricted free agent. "That was our mindset. It's gotten better every year. We took a big step in the right direction this year."