Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek has been in malaise for a year-and-a-half. (Mike Mullholland/MLive).

No shortage of players needed to rebound

The list of Detroit Red Wings needing bounce-back seasons is lengthy.

Far more players underachieved in 2016-17 than exceeded expectations – or even met most expectations. The group included, but wasn’t limited to, Justin Abdelkader, Danny DeKeyser, Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahan and Petr Mrazek.

Who is mostly likely to return to form? One of those players has more reasons to be inspired in 2017-18, as an MLive reader noted.

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Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek is entering the final year of his contract. (AP file photo)

Several motivating factors could spur Mrazek

Q: Could Petr Mrazek be highly motivated to bounce back, after being exposed to Vegas (in the expansion draft) and entering the final year of his contract? – Bill

A: Without a doubt.

Mrazek hasn’t been the same for a year-and-a-half. He went 18-21-9, with a 3.04 goals-against average and .901 save percentage, in 2016-17 and essentially lost his starting job to Jimmy Howard.

Still, it was surprising the club exposed Mrazek in the expansion draft instead of Howard, who is eight years older. And when the Golden Knights didn’t select Mrazek – for their own roster or to use as a trade chip – that must have been a further slight to someone who was regarded as the goaltender of the future just one year ago.

Players tend to step it up during a contract year and that should further motivate Mrazek. If he experiences a similar season, the Red Wings aren’t likely to make him a qualifying offer for $4 million, which would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

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Could defenseman Ryan Sproul be the odd-man out if the Red Wings need cap space? (AP file photo).

Would club risk losing young defenseman over veteran?

Q: Do you think they would waive Jonathan Ericsson over Ryan Sproul if they have to waive a player as (general manager Ken) Holland has said they will only carry seven defensemen? – Ford

A: No. I think they would waive Sproul before Ericsson, even if it means losing a young defenseman for nothing. You can make a case for waiving Ericsson instead because it’s highly unlikely any team would claim him with three years remaining at a $4.25 million cap hit. If he was taken it would clear up significant cap space.

But as much as Ericsson has struggled and drawn the wrath of fans, the organization believes he is better than many make him out to be. They have a track record for favoring veterans over inexperienced players. They also have concerns about Sproul's defensive play. Waiving Ericsson would trim only $1.025 million in cap space, which still might be enough to solve their issue.

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Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson suffered a season-ending broken wrist on Feb. 9. (AP file photo)

Not getting much bang for their bucks

Q: The Wings should play (Xavier) Ouellet, create openings for Sproul, (Robbie) Russo, forwards (Tyler) Bertuzzi and (Evgeny) Svechnikov, (Luke Witkowski on defense). (Trevor) Daley, another 34-year-old, added, so it would appear Ericsson should be the odd-man out. Or put (Niklas) Kronwall on LTIR. The Wings "best options" not getting the job done, so how can they bust the clog on defense? And why do the Wings insist their development players must be better than guys on the downward slope, now overpriced? The cap imposes value judgments, and the Wings are not getting adequate value for the cap squeeze they are in. – Dale

A: You're right, the team isn't getting near enough value for its league-high payroll.

When they missed the playoffs and the streak was snapped some thought they might be more willing to shake things up in the off-season, but they returned with largely the same team, in the hopes that a majority of the roster will “bounce back.” They’re not interested in a rebuild, they’re trying to make the playoffs next season. They believe there’s a better chance that many of their underperforming players will rebound than there is of prospects stepping in and out-performing veterans.

As for how the defense will sort out, Daley will be paired with Danny DeKeyser and I think the other pairings will feature Kronwall with Mike Green and Ericsson with Nick Jensen. Ouellet and Sproul would be their seventh and eighth defensemen (if they have cap space to carry eight). Of course, this is assuming everyone is healthy, and how often is that the case?

Russo is waiver-exempt for another season and will be in Grand Rapids. Witkowski is more likely to be the fourth-line right wing or the 13th forward but could play defense if needed.

Bertuzzi will have a good opportunity to crack the roster, depending on his performance in camp/preseason and cap space. They have flexibility with him because he’s waiver-exempt.

I don’t think Svechnikov is NHL-ready. I would expect him to spend all or most of the season in Grand Rapids.

(If you have a Red Wings-related question, email me at akhan1@mlive.com.)

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Big, tough defenseman Dylan McIlrath played a key role in the Grand Rapids Griffins' Calder Cup championship run. (Daytona Niles | MLive.com)

This Griffin would provide toughness

Q: The Wings have lacked meaningful toughness since (Brendan) Shanahan left. We've lived through years of seeing the likes of (Henrik) Zetterberg and others enduring cheap shots after cheap shots with little to no response from anyone on the roster. Then we trade for (Dylan) McIlrath, who is big, mean, tough, went plus-12 in the Calder Cup run and was characterized by the coach (Todd Nelson) as the final piece to a championship roster because everyone got bigger and tougher with him in the lineup. Why don't we ever hear any news about his chances of making the Red Wings this fall? Wouldn't he at least be a nice No. 7 D to have around? – Drew

A: The biggest knock against McIlrath, the 10th overall pick by the New York Rangers in 2010, is his skating ability. Many believe he couldn't keep pace to play regularly in the NHL. He has appeared in only 43 NHL games.

He would need to prove otherwise in training camp and the preseason, coupled with a couple of injuries on defense, to have a shot at making the roster.

The Red Wings believe the addressed the toughness issue with Witkowski’s signing.

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