The Detroit Red Wings’ opening night roster is expected to have eight defensemen, with 32-year-old Justin Holl and 23-year-old Albert Johansson as the projected healthy scratches. Often times in training camp and the preseason, the two have been defense partners, including in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
The difference between the two offers a window into how career arcs affect the perception of players. Both are in the same shoes this season, but where Johansson is a budding prospect who is just now cracking the NHL, Holl is an experienced blueliner who knows how it feels to be a contributor. Last season, he spent more game watching from the press box than he did actually dressing for the game. It’s a humbling feeling, a difficult pill to swallow. While Johansson can trust the process of getting into the NHL lineup, any time Holl isn’t playing is a painful step back.
“I think it’s different for him, in terms of being a 23-year-old and trying to break into the league,” Holl said Tuesday after practice. “Just mentally, the feeling about it is a little bit different. I think it’s easier to handle that when you’re a little younger and you’re like, ‘OK, I’ll get my chance.’ As opposed to me where I’ve been that guy. It’s tough to not be that guy.”
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
It used to be different for Holl. For the better part of his six-year, 285-game career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was that guy — a depended-upon defenseman who played second pairing minutes for one of the most popular teams in the league. In his final two seasons in Toronto, he logged more than 100 hits and 100 blocked shots each year. This was the allure behind the Red Wings signing Holl on the opening day of the 2023 free agency for a modest $3.4 million cap hit over three years. With a defense corps in flux due to prospects maturing and former signees aging out, Holl brought stability to the right side for a team trying to out-depth its way toward the playoffs. He had a clear path to contributing.
Then, this path became obstructed. It just so happened that another right-handed stalwart became available in August 2023 — Jeff Petry, who was also traded that offseason as part of the deal sending Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh. He was a low-cost upgrade for the defense — just a…