Ted Kulfan's Red Wings midseason grades

Red Wings forwards

Justin Abdelkader – A knee injury deeply cut into Abdelkader’s season as he only played 22 games. The Red Wings badly miss his physical presence and ability to get to the net. GRADE: Incomplete

Andreas Athanasiou – A sprained ankle cut into his season, but when Athanasiou has been in he’s usually provided a spark. Defenders have difficulty dealing with his world-class speed. GRADE: B

Luke Glendening – Glendening hasn’t contributed much offense (1 goal) but he’s been vital winning faceoffs (54 percent) and being an effective penalty killer. Also has been a steady and earnest wing on several scoring lines. GRADE: B

Darren Helm – A dislocated shoulder knocked Helm out of the lineup for an extended period of time, something that plagued him earlier in his career. In 17 games, Helm was providing an offensive spark and speed. GRADE: Incomplete

Tomas Jurco – His season got off to a late start because of back issues, and hasn’t been able to score or settle into the lineup regularly since he got healthy. GRADE: Incomplete

Dylan Larkin – In season two of his young career Larkin is gradually showing people he will be a dangerous offensive player for a long time. The assists (four) are down, but the goals (11) lead the team. GRADE: B-plus

Anthony Mantha – Mantha has shown glimpses he might be able to live up to all the hype and expectations. With 10 goals over 24 games, that’s quite an impressive pace. GRADE: A

Drew Miller – Miller hasn’t been able to secure to a regular spot, but he continues to be an effective penalty killer and a dependable fourth-line defensive presence. GRADE: C

Frans Nielsen – A steady and earnest professional, Nielsen has been exactly what the Red Wings envisioned while essentially replacing Pavel Datsyuk. Nielsen isn’t Datsyuk, but he’s been a reasonable replacement. GRADE: B

Gustav Nyquist – After a promising start, Nyquist has gone ice cold. Only four goals in 39 games, none over the last 19 and one over the last 33. Simply hasn’t been enough of a presence most evenings. GRADE: D-minus

Steve Ott – Another free agent signing that was questioned by many analysts and fans, but Ott has more than shown his worth on the fourth line, penalty killing, and willingness to bring a physical presence. GRADE: B-minus

Riley Sheahan – Sheahan averages over 14 minutes a game, has received time on the power play, played on scoring lines. And in 38 games, Sheahan has yet to score a goal while also posting a minus-14 plus-minus rating. The season thus far, has been a fail. GRADE: F

Tomas Tatar – The Red Wings were hoping for Tatar to rebound from a disappointing offensive season, but it hasn’t happened. Tatar only has eight goals, spread over 39 games, and too often continues to disappear over stretches. GRADE: D

Thomas Vanek – Many analysts couldn’t figure out this free agent signing, given Vanek’s reputation for inconsistency and declining production. But with 9 goals and 23 points in only 28 games, Vanek has been everything the Red Wings could have expected. GRADE: A-minus

Henrik Zetterberg – As the mid-season approaches, Zetterberg is leading the team in scoring (28 points), is plus-12, and playing over 19 minutes per game while providing strong leadership. Impressive stuff. GRADE: A-minus

Red Wings defensemen

Danny DeKeyser – There have been too many games where DeKeyser hasn’t taken the next step the Red Wings would have envisioned after signing a six-year contract over the summer. Playing over 22 minutes, but the offense still hasn’t come (six points) and there’s been coverage issues. GRADE: C

Jonathan Ericsson – One of the promising developments of the first half has been Ericsson’s rebound from a sub-par season. He’s been a steadying presence playing with younger defensemen, playing with more confidence. GRADE: B-minus

Mike Green – Green scored a hat trick in the home season opener, and the production was pretty steady until he got hurt recently. He’s been producing offense, and Green was playing better defense. GRADE: B

Nick Jensen – Called up several weeks ago, Jensen has showed offensive skills and has played his position well defensively. GRADE: Incomplete

Niklas Kronwall – The Red Wings were expecting to monitor Kronwall’s ice time but when he returned from knee problems, that appeared to go out the window until he got hurt this week. A sturdy presence on the blue line. GRADE: C-plus

Alexey Marchenko –The first half has been essentially been a wash as Marchenko has missed 16 games with shoulder problems. The Red Wings could use his reliable defensive game the rest of the season. GRADE: Incomplete

Xavier Ouellet – In his first full NHL season, Ouellet has shown to be what many always hyped him to be – he isn’t overly great in any one area but is more than dependable in every one. Could have a long pro career. GRADE: B-minus

Brendan Smith – A knee sprain has put a major dent in Smith’s season, limiting him to 24 games with free agency looming this summer. When Smith has been on the ice, he’s looked better defensively. GRADE: Incomplete

Ryan Sproul – Has been unable to gain a foothold on a steady spot in the lineup, but there have been glimpses of his ability to play with the puck. The defensive part needs work. GRADE: Incomplete

Goalies

Jared Coreau – In limited action the last several weeks, after Howard got hurt, Coreau has been impressive with his calm and technical play in net. GRADE: Incomplete

Jimmy Howard – There were quite a few people who probably expected Howard to be traded or playing sparingly as the backup. Instead, Howard was arguably the Red Wings’ most valuable player before recently spraining his knee. GRADE: A