The Detroit Red Wings and their fans seem to feel the best they have in years about the pool of talent on the roster. There are young players in key roles, and the team’s best players have generally produced to their abilities. However, there are still clear areas of weakness in the lineup that need to be addressed.
The Red Wings’ third pairing is one example as its performance has varied greatly from game to game. Anchored by defenseman Albert Johansson, both Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic have joined him on that third pairing. Both Bernard-Docker and Hamonic were new additions to the team when the season began, and both have played less than 10 of the team’s 16 games this season.
Looking a little closer, it is clear that the third pairing has been better with Bernard-Docker in the lineup.
Hamonic’s Experience Compliments Johansson
There’s no doubt that Bernard-Docker and Hamonic bring different elements to the Red Wings’ third pairing. Hamonic is a veteran of over 900 NHL games and generally plays the role of a stay-at-home defenseman meant to defend and be noticed as little as possible. Bernard-Docker is a former first-round selection with just 152 games of experience under his belt. He plays a similar defensive style, but also shows the ability to move the puck when given the chance.
Given Johansson’s lack of experience (this being his second NHL season), there is merit to sticking him with the experienced Hamonic. NHL coaches often like to combine youth with experience, with the veteran likely filling a mentor role for his younger partner. Couple that with the fact that Johansson seems to be becoming a key fixture on the Red Wings’ defense, and you can see why the organization would want him paired with someone that can help further his development.
Related: Red Wings Need to Improve Lackluster 5-on-5 Offense
Swapping Hamonic for Bernard-Docker removes a lot of experience from the lineup, but the latter does fit the Red Wings’ overall age profile. At 25 years of age, he is about six months older than Johansson and is actually the third-oldest player on the blue line behind Hamonic and Ben Chiarot. But what he lacks in experience, Bernard-Docker has been able to make up for with results.
The Numbers Point to JBD
Before arriving in Detroit, Benard-Docker was rarely a net-positive in terms of his impact on his team’s possession numbers. He’s never played a huge role either; his career-best season, the 2023-24 campaign, saw him collect 14 points in 72 games while averaging 15:42 in ice-time. He usually started his shifts in the defensive zone and would leave the ice as soon as the puck exited the zone.
Through eight games with the Red Wings, Bernard-Docker has averaged just 12:38 in ice-time as he doesn’t seem to have the coaching staff’s trust in the defensive zone yet. Luckily, his numbers in the time he does get are positive.
In a little under 75 minutes at 5-v-5, the Red Wings are outshooting their opponents 44-34 whenever Johansson and Bernard-Docker are on the ice together (per Natural Stat Trick). To compare, the Red Wings have been outshot 47-35 in 84 5-v-5 minutes when Johansson and Hamonic are paired together. The Red Wings are outscoring their opponents 6-3 with Bernard-Docker paired with Johansson, and have been outscored 6-1 with Hamonic on that third pairing.
Hamonic has started nearly two-thirds of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, so the coaches clearly trust him in that situation. To some extent, they have to; Moritz Seider takes on the toughest assignments on the right side of the blue line, Axel Sandin Pellikka is a rookie and plays a style that is susceptible to defensive mistakes, and the coaching staff’s lack of trust in Bernard-Docker has already been mentioned.
But when the results have been as polarized as they are, it seems Hamonic’s status as a veteran defensive defenseman is being used as a crutch. A month into the season, the Red Wings have proven that they need positive contributions from up and down the lineup to win on a consistent basis. It is clear how Detroit gets the best results it can from its third pairing.
The Red Wings Need More
The Red Wings have shown progress in the first month of the 2025-26 season. The roster is trending younger as Nate Danielson recently joined rookies Sandin Pellikka and Emmitt Finnie in the lineup. The team’s top players have looked dangerous on a near-nightly basis. The team’s overall defensive play has improved as well, especially on the penalty kill.
When things don’t go the Red Wings’ way, however, it is sometimes too easy to pinpoint the weak links in the lineup. Though he helps balance out all of the youth on Detroit’s blue line, Hamonic has not produced the necessary results to maintain a consistent spot in the lineup. Johansson and the Red Wings have simply been better with Benard-Docker in the lineup.
It’s up to Benard-Docker to figure out what else he needs to do to earn the coaching staff’s trust, and the coaching staff needs to recognize that he’s earned the opportunity to gain their trust. The Red Wings are in the process of rounding out their lineup, and this may be the best way to optimize their defense.
