The Free Press posted two articles this morning. The first comes from Helene St. James, who suggests that the Red Wings will improve by a fair amount as they continue to rebuild the organization this upcoming season…
The Wings have looked sharp in camp, making do with scrimmages in the absence of exhibition games. For a team that has not played a game since last March, this week of practices, and the promise of what’s ahead, has been encouraging.
“The new guys have made a great impression on a lot of us,” Dylan Larkin said. “We seem to be jelling as a team. It’s hard to grab stuff out of red-white games, but certain guys have looked good. Anthony Mantha certainly has looked good and dangerous. If he can stay healthy and produce, that helps our team a lot.
“It’s been a long 10 months. We’re excited as a team. It’s going to be great to have game one here against Carolina and from there it’s going to go pretty fast with games almost every other night.”
On opening night, Larkin is expected to be wearing a ‘C’ on his sweater, as Yzerman has said he plans to name a new captain.
Continued (paywall);
And the Free Press’s staff writers–St. James, Jeff Seidel and Shawn Windsor–made predictions as to what will happen during the upcoming season:
Shawn Windsor
Best-case scenario: The young guys keep improving and the team occasionally takes a heavyweight down. Also: stay healthy.
Worst-case scenario: Injuries to youngsters, of course. Any wasted develop time would be a setback.
Breakout player: Filip Zadina, who else? A creative and gifted skater and scorer should get all the time he needs to show he’s ready.
Goals leader: Anthony Mantha. He found ways to score on the league’s worst offensive team a year ago before injuries and the pandemic shortened his season. If he stays healthy, he should build on the promise — and production — he flashed last season.
Will they make the playoffs: No. Not likely. This season isn’t about the playoffs anyway. It’s about staying healthy and building chemistry and getting better and trading for more assets.
