The Detroit Red Wings’ power play might change a lot in the next two or three seasons as the roster changes. How should Detroit approach the short-term future?

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see the long-term future of the Red Wings’ power play.

It’s a future with pillars that include high-scoring defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka and speedy scorer Nate Danielson. From the current squad, Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat have established themselves as quality contributors that probably aren’t going anywhere. And even though their expertise shows more in their own defensive end, defenseman Moritz Seider and two-way forward prospect Marco Kasper could be part of future power play units, too. It's a unit that will provide plenty of excitement, and in all likelihood a lot of goals.

In the meantime? Well, the short-term future is a little more murky. Some of the Red Wings’ best power play performers are unrestricted free agents, and their natural replacements are still a ways away from building that idyllic future. At a juncture in the rebuild where Detroit is trying to build a competitive team while prospects mature, this offseason will play a major role in shaping the near future of the Red Wings’ man advantage.

Power plays matter. They’re what make good teams playoff teams, and playoff teams contenders. All four conference finals teams this season had a power play that ranked in the top eight. The Red Wings, who finished ninth in the NHL at 23.08%, also saw great benefits from a great power play. With their best man advantage in almost a decade, Detroit not-coincidentally came one win away from a playoff spot in their most competitive season since the rebuild began.

Some of this improvement came from manpower, with free agent signees Patrick Kane, Shayne Gostisbehere and Daniel Sprong adding value to the man advantage. Power plays are an opportunity for teams to exert their will using the mismatch of their talent against an undermanned opponent. With more talent thanks to their signings, the Red Wings could take full advantage.

But some of that talent — Gostisbehere, Kane, Sprong and David Perron — are unrestricted free agents with the option to leave Detroit this offseason. Especially in Kane and Gostisbehere, losing these players would be a huge step back for the man advantage.

The Red Wings know what power play pieces they might rely on in the long-term future as prospects come in, but the short term has to bridge the gap to get there. Right now, Detroit is faced with an important decision. It can pay a premium to keep those core pieces of the power play, maintaining a competitive unit for a team whose sights should be set on the playoffs next season. Or, it can move on from those pricey contract negotiations and try to find budget options in free agency or from within.

True replacement will be difficult, perhaps impossible. Kane is a hall of fame half wall specialist who finished this season with two goals and 13 assists on the man advantage in just 50 games played. On the other side, Gostisbehere quarterbacked the first unit with two goals and 27 assists on the man advantage. Relative to the rest of the NHL, he finished with 4.0 expected goals at 5-on-4, which ranked fifth among defensemen and ahead of names like Tampa’s Victor Hedman (3.8 xG), Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes (3.6 xG) and Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard (2.6 xG) according to Moneypuck. Gostisbehere and Kane both had a really, really good season, and they are going to make a lot of money this offseason because of that.

This offseason isn’t the most friendly for Detroit to engage in cash-strapped negotiations. It will spend a significant portion of its roughly $28 million in cap space to re-sign Seider and Raymond. Whatever is left over will have to furnish multiple positions, including a top six forward. If the asking price is too high, the Red Wings might find themselves forced to let free agents walk, potentially their power play aces in Kane or Gostisbehere.

In this case, how might they replace them? Internally, the Red Wings have options to work with. On defense, Seider played on the second power play unit and could see his role increase — especially with a big contract extension in hand. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson could also fill in to some degree, having spent the start of last season with Grand Rapids in part to learn how to run a power play to the Red Wings’ standards. In Kane’s spot, the Red Wings could lean on lefties Robby Fabbri or Joe Veleno. If he’s on the opening night roster, so could deceptive scoring wing Jonatan Berggren. This crew won’t replace Kane entirely, but it could minimize the difference between the power play versions with and without Kane. Budget free agent signings could attempt to accomplish this, too, though they come with their own risks with unknown quantities fitting in with the current unit.

Power play improvements in other areas could also make up for any lost contributions in the short term. Raymond showed tenacity at the goal mouth last season, especially in the home stretch of the just-short playoff run. If he can build from that next season, that could maintain power play success. DeBrincat also had more than his fair share of struggles with finishing after a hot start to the season. Developing more consistency could also “create” more power play goals to make up the difference.

Ultimately, the goal with either solution should be to maintain scoring while buying time for the future pieces to click into place. ghe power play puzzle isn’t one worth trading the future to buy premium pieces. In order to be a competitive team vying for the playoffs, however, they’ll need to come up with something for the meantime. The future of the power play might be exciting, but something has to exist in the meantime. What that something looks like should be a big part of the Red Wings’ offseason plans.

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