The Detroit Red Wings are headed to their third consecutive season without a playoff berth. Being a Wings fan who was blessed to have the team in the playoffs for the first 25 years of my life, while earning 4 Stanley Cup Championships and 2 other finals appearances, it was hard to watch the team collapse.
Projected No. 1 Overall Pick Jack Hughes
Detroit currently finds itself in 15th place in the Eastern Conference with only 55 points. This is also good for the second worst position in the league just ahead of the Ottawa Senators. With their current position in the standings and of point total the #LoseForHughes campaign is in full swing. According to Tankathon the Wings currently have a 38.8% chance at a top three pick and a 13.5% chance at the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. In simulating the lottery, it only took me two times before the Wings landed the No. 1 overall pick.
This franchise is losing a lot; however, they are losing in the right way. Throughout the entire season the team has been relatively competitive. The Wings have played in 16 one-goal games so far this season, posting a 5-11 record in those games. They have also gone into overtime or a shootout 18 times over the course of 65 games; or around 27.6% of the time. As a team they have only managed to get their face bashed in four times. The scores of those four games were 2-8, 3-7, 2-6, and 1-8 against the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens respectively.
Fortunately, despite all the losing the young core of this team has been getting the necessary seasoning they will require in order to be competitive and make the playoffs once again upon the completion of the rebuilding process.
Larkin celebrates a goal
This young core is all on pace for career seasons; currently each player has set a career high in Average Time on Ice (ATOI) lending to the idea that they will be the top line players of the future. Despite three of these players becoming restricted free agents, the likelihood of offer sheets being presented to them is slim to none, so new contracts with decent pay raises are in each of their future which will only solidify the future of the Wings organization.
Not only are the above mentioned four players getting NHL seasoning, young guns like Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek, Dennis Cholowski, and Christoffer Ehn have all spent time between AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins and the Detroit Red Wings this season; allowing them to get their toes wet at the NHL level while still maintaining regular playing time.
The future of this organization is bright. With the trades of players like Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek and Robbie Russo in 2018 as well as Nick Jensen and Gustav Nyquist in 2019 General Manager Ken Holland has been able to hoard draft picks for the upcoming 2019 and 2020 NHL Drafts. In regards to the 2019 NHL Draft the Wings currently have a total of 12 selections including one first round and three second round picks.
While the overall record may not be appealing for this season, we need to see the bright side of what is going on. I know a lot of people haven’t exactly tuned in to watch the Wings this season, and I have been guilty of that at times throughout the season as well, however, when I have had them on the TV, I have been entertained and excited by what I am seeing. It is my belief that this team is the closet we have in Detroit in regard to competing for a championship once again. Now that championship won’t come next year, but I believe that within three seasons we will be seriously discussing the playoffs and what type of run the Detroit Red Wings can make.