Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan addressed his decision to scratch forward Marco Kasper from Sunday's game, and what the sophomore forward can do to elevate his confidence level amidst his scoring slump.
One of the most consistent offensive contributors to the Detroit Red Wings in the second half of last season was rookie Marco Kasper, who put himself into the conversation for the Calder Trophy with an electric three and a half months after the calendar flipped to 2025.
From January 10 through the end of the season, Kasper led all rookies in that time frame with a total of 17 goals, and he also managed to finish fifth overall in total rookie scoring during that time.
However, things have not gone as smoothly for Kasper this season, which has now extended far beyond a simple sophomore slump, a common occurrence among NHL players.
Kasper hasn't scored since October 30 when he tallied twice in a shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings, which was followed by not registering a single point in the entire month of November.
Through 36 games, Kasper has only three goals with two assists. He was also recently made a healthy scratch by head coach Todd McLellan for Sunday's game against the Washington Capitals, a 3-2 Red Wings victory in overtime.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
"You never want to get taken out of the lineup, but sometimes it's going to happen, and you have to make the best of it," Kasper explained following Tuesday morning's practice. "I've talked with Todd about some things, and I'm just trying to build on that and get it going. We've got something good going as a team, and we want to continue that."
As far as what Kasper believes that he can do in order to recapture some of the form that made him so successful in the latter half of his rookie campaign, he boiled it down to the basics of hard work and confidence.
"I don't think there was anything specific, I think it was just confidence and hard work, and that's what I try to do every time I come to the rink," he said. "Just put in the best effort that I can, and it's always good to see it pay off. Obviously, I've been struggling this year, but I try to work hard every day, and hopefully it will get better over the next few days, weeks, and months."
Head coach Todd McLellan, who made the difficult choice to scratch Kasper for Sunday's game, said that he felt the Austrian native's performance against the Capitals on Saturday afternoon was one of his better outings of the season.
"No one is ever pleased when they're not going to be involved in the game; that's why they're here," McLellan said. "We talked to Marco about that and his game, and I actually thought one of his better games was in Washington."
McLellan then addressed the elephant in the room: right now, Kasper just isn't producing like he did last season.
"The issue we have right now is that we're looking at 19 goals from last year and going, 'Where are they?' That's okay that they're not there right now; it's his overall game coming on, and he's starting to gain a little more confidence," he said. "(He) didn't have 19 goals at Christmas (last year), and maybe he can go on another run, but it's an immense amount of pressure being put on that young man."
Kasper thrived playing on Detroit's second line alongside Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane in the latter half of last season, and he began this season in the same position before eventually being moved throughout the lineup amidst his drought.
"We put him in the two-hole playing with Kaner and DeBrincat, we did that for a significant period in the beginning, then all of a sudden it wasn't going well, and he was feeling it," McLellan said. "We want to take the pressure off him and want him to just go play, but play hard and competitively."
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.