Detroit — One player the Red Wings have had difficulty replacing since he left via free agency is defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Wings signed Gostisbehere as an unrestricted free agent to a one-year contract on July 1, 2023, and he left via the same route back to Carolina exactly one year later, signing a three-year contract with the Hurricanes.
Gostisbehere was an excellent addition for the Wings, putting up 56 points (10 goals, 46 assists), one of the best offensive seasons from a Wings defensemen in years, and helping the Wings push for a playoff spot until the final night of the regular season.
The Wings attempted to re-sign Gostisbehere, but couldn’t agree on a deal. They haven’t been able to find the offense lost in losing Gostisbehere, while seeing their streak of missing the playoffs reach 10 consecutive seasons.
All the while, Gostisbehere, 33, has continued to spark the Hurricanes, supplying 50 points in 55 games (Gostisbehere battled injuries this season) and six points and a plus-four rating in the playoffs.
Now, Gostisbehere gets an opportunity to win his first Stanley Cup, as Carolina opens its series Tuesday against Vegas (8 p.m./ABC Channel 7) for hockey’s ultimate prize.
Carolina skates into the Finals having won 12 of 13 games through the first three rounds while winning the Eastern Conference.
“It’s just a compliment to the boys, coaches, organization as a whole preparing us,” Gostisbehere said of this spring’s playoff run. “It doesn’t feel like (12-1). We take a game-at-a-time approach. We’re not looking at the overall record, but the next game.”
The Hurricanes have reached the playoffs the last eight seasons, losing three times in the Eastern Conference Finals in that span, including to Florida last season.
The lessons learned during those difficult losses appear to have been learned. The Hurricanes are playing coach Rod Brind’Amour’s suffocating man-to-man system, taking away opponents’ time and space all over the ice, to perfection.
Often criticized for his defensive play, Gostisbehere has instead adapted well to Brind’Amour’s demanding defensive style.
“We’re all pulling on the same side of the rope, we’re all the same players in a sense that we’re going to do whatever we have to do to win,” Gostisbehere said. “You look at the skill guys, they’re blocking shots, too.”
Montreal, after winning the first game of the series, only scored five goals in the next four games (all losses), while being credited with a lowly 67 shots on net in those four games.
“It starts with the forwards,” Gostisbehere said. “You see the extended shifts they have and their (Montreal’s defensemen) are trying to do everything they can to break the puck out, and it’s continually just turnover after turnover, and it’s a momentum builder. You see each (line) just setting up the next line, going out and doing more of the same.
“It’s kind of just sticking a fork in them in a sense that you just keep doing the same thing over and over again.”
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ex-Red Wing Shayne Gostisbehere becomes key cog in Carolina’s Cup run
Reporting by Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
