This morning, The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown,” reviews the ten “worst teams” from fellow Athletic scribe Dom Luszczyszyn’s 2020-2021 season preview, with McIndoe attempting to discern whether these “bad teams” might be able to escape their respectively-prescripted fates…
And let’s just say that he’s not optimistic about the Red Wings’ chances of finishing somewhere other than last place:
So here’s what needs to happen. First, the goaltending has to be fantastic, and that might not actually be all that far-fetched. Thomas Greiss was a real nice signing, and he’s had two seasons of .925 or better in the last five years. So pencil him in for something like that, and the Wings are already a much better team.
Next, we need to improve an offense that ranked dead last. Maybe this is the year Dylan Larkin breaks through to the 80 or even 90-point tier. Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha have shown flashes, and would need to do it over a full season. A comeback year from Bobby Ryan would help. Filip Zadina arrives with a bang. Maybe Lucas Raymond too? Marc Staal rediscovers his game, Troy Stecher takes a step, and let’s even say Moritz Seider arrives ahead of schedule. Hell, while we’re at it, let’s also have it all somehow come together for Robby Fabbri.
If every single one of those things happens, the Wings are up to … what, maybe 85 points?
Yeah, that’s about the best I can do. To get the rest of the way to the playoffs, you need a few crazy things to happen. Maybe Steve Yzerman swings an unexpected deal, or finally pulls the trigger on Jeff Blashill and replaces him with the next Scotty Bowman. I could go on, but at some point it feels like we’re patronizing Wings fans. They know what they’re up against. The odds are overwhelming.
But it’s not completely impossible, because this is still the NHL, and if an expansion team can do it, well, maybe a team like Detroit could too. Do you believe in miracles?
Continued (paywall); now I’m biased, but my answer to DGB’s commentary is, “Yes, it does feel like we Wings fans are being patronized.” I’m not expecting the 2020-2021 Red Wings to make the playoffs, but I am hoping that the team will be much more competitive, regardless of whether that “less bad”-ness adds up to enough wins to earn the privilege of postseason play.
