One of the biggest criticisms with Filppula in his first stint with the Red Wings was his reluctance to shoot. That hasn’t changed. In fact, he seems even less inclined to shoot now. He managed to score 17 goals last season but that will be difficult to replicate with his tendency to pass first.
I’m not expecting a lot of goals from Valtteri Filppula. Quite frankly, I think I’d actually prefer if he doesn’t shoot a lot. Let him be a set up man. Let him pass the puck a lot to Filip Zadina and set him up for a ton of goals.