Todd McLellan is often blunt and will say what’s on his mind. That also includes when he defends his players.
Following the Detroit Red Wings‘ 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, McLellan defended forward Michael Rasmussen, who played a major role in helping Andrew Copp score the game-winner. Rasmussen (one point in seven games) collected the puck from Nate Danielson, who beat two Flyers players to the puck and kept the play alive.
As multiple Flyers players closed in and tried to steal the puck, Rasmussen showed impressive control, fending off everyone before finding Copp. Copp scored, and the Red Wings won. That was Rasmussen’s first point of the season, and his first in his last 31 games.
Via Dave Hogg of NHL.com, McLellan said, “We’re not going to sit here and judge (Rasmussen) based on his point total. The rest of the world might, but his contribution to the team is his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds), which he’s used pretty well.”
Winning hockey games goes well beyond player point totals. While every team needs talents like Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and up-and-comers like Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Anton Johansson, they also need gritty players willing to do dirty work. Rasmussen fits in the latter category.
Michael Rasmussen Hasn’t Lived Up To His Draft Hype, But…
The former ninth-overall pick has just 155 points and 66 goals in 461 games. That’s the number many fans look at, considering Rasmussen’s draft status. Rasmussen is also coming off a season where he finished with 14 points and six goals in 64 games.
He also wasn’t as physical last season, with 64 hits. That was well below his average of between 113 and 114 per season across the first 390 games of his career. Rasmussen also had his worst faceoff win percentage of 45.8, his lowest since 2020-21 when he notched a 44.4 percentage.
This season, though, has seen better returns. While Rasmussen can still stand to help the Red Wings create more opportunities when he’s on the ice, he’s averaging over two hits per game with 16. Rasmussen is also notching a 49.4 Corsi For Percentage at even strength, which is the highest of his career.
Todd McLellan And The Coaching Staff Undoubtedly See Even More In Rasmussen
Few outside the Red Wings organization know how to make players click than Todd McLellan and his staff. Rasmussen is no exception. Currently, he’s averaging 16:50 per game, which is top-six minutes.
Clearly, there is something McLellan and Co. see in Rasmussen that many aren’t. It could be his overall experience, physical play that’s coming back into the fold, his defense-first mentality, something else, or a combo. But if Rasmussen wasn’t meeting expectations this season, he wouldn’t be called on to play so many minutes.
While Rasmussen’s ice time will certainly dwindle as players like Finnie and Brandsegg-Nygard get more experience and become more consistent, he is a trusted player with Detroit. The same could also occur when J.T. Compher, Marco Kasper, and Mason Appleton work their way back into the fold.
So don’t expect Rasmussen’s ice time to dwindle just yet. If he remains a trusted stopgap and the staff continues to utilize him well, he could still wind up playing between 12:30 and 13:30 per game when the team gets healthier.
Todd McLellan Defends Struggling Red Wings Forward