The Red Wings have gotten better on the back end in just about every area, but Ben Chiarot keeps standing out for the wrong reasons.
That’s not all on him. Detroit’s current defensive setup has left Chiarot in a spot that doesn’t fit where he is in his career.
He should be handling bottom-pair minutes, but instead he’s been pushed onto the top pair next to Moritz Seider because of a certain still-unsigned defenseman. Seider has handled the assignment beautifully.
Chiarot, meanwhile, has been the one getting caught on broken plays and turning pucks over.
The numbers from November 2 tell the story in blunt fashion. Seider led all defensemen in wins above replacement with a .51 WAR, while Chiarot sat last among all NHL defensemen at -.27.
That’s the bind Detroit is in. William Wallinder has been producing strong results on the second pair with Justin Faulk, and Andreas Englund sits below him, though he may be an even worse fit than Chiarot on the top pair. Because of that structure, Chiarot has been asked to log more minutes than he should.
And the more he’s out there, the more the mistakes stack up. Seider has been excellent, but the Red Wings need a real long-term answer for the Chiarot issue.
The cleanest fix is to sign Simon Edvinsson. Contract talks have stalled over the last few weeks, but the hope is still that he’ll get a deal done soon.
Detroit has also had negotiations with teams about a possible trade, but the priority right now is getting Edvinsson under contract. Interim GM Shawn Horcoff has less than a month to make it happen.
If Horcoff wants to get more creative, there’s another path: use a Larkin trade to land an Edvinsson replacement, then turn an Edvinsson trade into a Larkin replacement. That would give the Red Wings a top center for the future while also creating a way to push Chiarot down the depth chart. It would likely send Andreas Englund to waivers or into an extra-defenseman role, which seems close to unavoidable at this point.
There’s also a more aggressive option, though it comes with risk. Detroit could break up the Wallinder pairing and put him with Edvinsson instead.
Usually, that’s not the kind of chemistry you want to disturb, especially on defense. But if Chiarot keeps sliding as the season goes on and Edvinsson never arrives, Todd McLellan may not have much choice.
That would be a major test for Wallinder, who has only just reached the NHL at 24. Giving a young defenseman that kind of responsibility takes real trust.
If the Red Wings go that route, it would probably come later in the season, after Chiarot’s struggles continue and Edvinsson is still out of the picture. McLellan could start with a shift or two to see whether it works, then build from there once he’s comfortable.
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There has also been some behind-the-scenes pressure to widen the field, with Detroit still searching for a deal that makes sense under the current restrictions. For a team trying to manage both its present and its future, the stalemate only adds another layer to a situation that has already become more complicated than anyone around the club would prefer. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Blockbuster Idea Would Only Deepen One Roster Problem
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Against that backdrop, a blockbuster idea involving Buffalo has been floated as a possible way to shake things loose, but it would hardly be a simple fix. Detroits problem is not just finding value in a deal of that size, it is deciding whether moving pieces around would actually solve the roster imbalance or only deepen it, especially with the clock still ticking on Edvinsson and the Larkin situation unresolved. [Read more 🡒]