While Joe Veleno fills in on the top line for an injured Dylan Larkin, he gains the opportunity to show his progress before negotiating a new contract this summer

When the Red Wings inked Joe Veleno to a one-year, $850,000 contract back in August, it’s doubtful that either side expected him to be their top line center any time this season. The epitome of a prove-it deal, such a contract lent itself to the bottom six role that Veleno had earned up to that point.

Yet, with first-line center Dylan Larkin sidelined with an injury for the second time this season, Veleno is expected to slot into the 1C once again the next two weeks. Such a situation not only speaks to the way Veleno has refined his versatility this season, but it also allows the 24-year-old center to show his merit in larger roles for Detroit. As he’s expected to play between potent winger duo Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, Veleno has a major opportunity on his hands.

“Pace. He can skate,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said about what earned Veleno his promotion to the top line. “I think you see when someone can have success with Cat and Kane, they just work better when someone's providing some pace for them. And that was Dylan, and Joe has that ability to do that also.”

The Kane-Veleno-DeBrincat trio isn’t breaking new ground for the Red Wings — they’ve logged about 50 minutes together this season, generating 2.5 xG/60 in that time while controlling a whopping 61.8% of total expected goals when they’re on the ice according to Moneypuck. The trio has also played together on the power play at times. Funny enough, though, they haven’t scored at all at 5-on-5 despite those encouraging figures. In other words, limited test runs show a lot of potential for this line to do well, even if the payoff hasn’t been so apparent.

Regardless, Detroit is going to lean on this line a lot in the next two weeks, and especially Veleno. Lalonde estimated a bump into the 18-20 minute range for Veleno, a big boost though a little less than the 21-22 minutes he played in Larkin’s last five-game absence in mid-December. In that previous span, Veleno proved effective in spurts, scoring a goal and two assists during his brief promotion though he logged a minus-six rating.

That resume doesn’t tell the whole story, though. The Red Wings were without many of their key players at that time, including Larkin, top-six forwards J.T. Compher and David Perron. Veleno didn’t have the tools alongside him to provide an adequate preview of what he could look like in a top-line role. Veleno can also maximize a lot more time before shouldering the top-line responsibilities, utilizing two off days between games to practice. The environment for Veleno to succeed is a lot more favorable than what it was three months ago.

“We can adjust with our lines, we get a couple practice days, we get to work on the special teams without Dylan,” Lalonde said. “And so I think the two days is beneficial in this situation.”

Overall, though, the Red Wings don’t really need Veleno to be a top-line center long term. They’ve got Larkin and Compher for the foreseeable future. Even so, this is a valuable opportunity for Veleno to prove he can rise to that role when injuries inevitably happen. Playing up and down a lineup is a valuable ability for players in the NHL, and it’s one Veleno can prove he has these next two weeks.

This matters all the more when considering Veleno’s current contract situation as a pending RFA with arbitration rights. When he and agent Philippe Lecavalier negotiate a probable extension with Detroit this summer, pointing to success during this span can help him extract more value on his next deal. Such is the benefit of a prove-it deal like he signed over the summer.

What success looks like these next two weeks covers a range of abilities. Of course, the Red Wings will want Veleno to score with Kane and DeBrincat — that’s evidenced in the way Lalonde picked him to play with them based on the way his pace can activate those scorers. But Veleno can also make a defensive impact. That emphasis can bring a bit more balance to a line with two scorers like Kane and DeBrincat.

Veleno isn’t the only one who will have to elevate their game in Larkin’s absence. Lalonde predicted increased ice time for the whole team to try and shoulder the burden of losing such a valuable player these next two weeks — especially when fighting for a playoff spot.

“1C, he’s great down the middle, he’s (playing) by far our most minutes,” Lalonde said of Larkin. “He’s one of the only guys who plays all three situations five-on-five, penalty kill and power play. He's a driver for us. So these are the bumps. We want to stay in that battle and get over that line — you gotta fight through some of these things. And this is our opportunity on this road trip.”

It doesn’t seem like Veleno will take on all three phases of the game to replace Larkin. In Monday’s practice, Veleno wasn’t one of the eight forwards to skate in power play drills. Meanwhile, the penalty kill going against them didn’t include some usual penalty killers in Compher and Andrew Copp, meaning the exact PK lines won’t be known until Tuesday’s game at Colorado. It does seem likely that Veleno will pick up some slack there, though, since his defensive play has garnered him PK time previously this season.

The Red Wings might have an opportunity to rise above Larkin’s absence in a better way than they did the last time he was injured, but Veleno also has an opportunity to show what he can bring to the lineup in the future. If he can succeed in this momentary promotion, Veleno could add new dimensions to his role within Detroit’s lineup.

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