In a subscriber-only article, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes that the Red Wings will be playing in one of the NHL’s most competitive divisions this upcoming season:
This Central Division hardly looks like a breather, in any way, for the Wings — or, likewise, the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. The top four teams from each of four divisions qualify for the playoffs; there will be no wild cards.
The race to make the playoffs in the Central will not be easy.
You have the two Stanley Cup finalists from last season — the champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and runner-up Dallas Stars — both in the same division. Both, also, have retained the majority of their rosters.
Columbus and Carolina both won one round in the Return To Play last summer, and appear capable of reaching the playoffs this season.
Nashville and Florida qualified for the Return To Play, lost in the qualifying round, but both have rosters capable of producing winning seasons.
If the Red Wings are to reverse last season’s misery, they’ll have a difficult time doing so.
“Our division is stacked,” Mantha said. “It’ll be a great challenge for us. If we want to prove people wrong, those are the teams we have to beat.”
Continued (paywall)
