The Detroit Red Wings have extended Jacob Bernard-Docker to a two-year deal—and he’s absolutely earned it.
JBD has been a steady, reliable presence on the third pairing, giving Detroit exactly what they needed in key moments. But this move also brings up an important question…
Is the Red Wings blue line getting too crowded?
With four right-shot defensemen already under contract, someone is going to be rotating in and out of the lineup next season. That reality could create both competition and opportunity across the roster.
It may also give Detroit flexibility with top prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka—allowing him time to develop at the AHL level instead of being forced into a full-time NHL role before he’s ready.
At the same time, questions remain on the left side. With the roster filling up quickly, does this limit Detroit’s ability to make upgrades this summer?
In this episode of 7 Minute Wings, we break down:
Why JBD earned this extension
What the defensive depth chart looks like now
How this impacts Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s path
And whether Steve Yzerman still has moves to make
There’s a lot to like here—but also some big decisions ahead.
@OfficialRedWings @griffvision
🔖 Hashtags
#LGRW #RedWings #DetroitRedWings #NHL #Hockey #AxelSandinPellikka #Yzerman #NHLRumors #HockeyTalk
@Ottawa Senators
3 Comments
Considering ASP (even though he should not have been in the NHL this year) will probably improve to the point where he is ready to be a 3rd pairing NHL defenseman next year and considering Anton Johansson is already a better DEFENSEman than ASP, and JBD being the 3rd most effective defenseman on the entire team this year, can somebody explain why we made such a brilliant trade handing over an unprotected 1st round pick, an early 3rd round pick, a top 6 prospect in the organization AND an ACTUAL NHL defenseman that is better and much larger than the plug we traded for to plug up the right side and make mess of next seasons RD depth??? He will have absolutely ZERO value next year as a 35 year old defenseman on a 6.5 million expiring contract and somebody that should be playing for the wings is going to be stuck in the AHL. Just another brilliant Walman like move from Yzerman. He's evidently playing 6D chess and the rest of us just playing checkers….
2 months ago we were in full panic mode when no 77 was hurt..
whatever happens this year playoffs or not,next year the blue line will be better than what you started in this..can we get along with that ?
That was the last straw, after following the team for 48 years; I am done. Yzerman is the worst evaluator of D imaginable. Good luck you guys.