The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown,” has posted an article in which he compares six “good” teams to six “bad” teams which can draw inspiration from the “good” ones, and the Red Wings are in his article:
The good young team that’s on track and should contend for the playoffs but that’s about it: Similar to the category above, we know that rebuilds take time. Once you’ve taken those first tentative steps out of the basement, the next step is to become a permanent part of the playoff picture. That doesn’t always mean making it, but you want to be in the conversation. Do that for a few years, and maybe you can eventually graduate to being one of the league’s better teams.
Or, you know, skip that part and go directly to the top of the standings.
The 2021-22 inspiration: New York Rangers
A year ago: The Rangers missed the playoffs last year, making it four years and counting since they’d won a postseason game. They had some pieces in place, though, and after a front-office shakeup and a coaching upgrade, they seemed ready to finally make the playoffs.
But then…: The Rangers have played at close to a .700 points percentage clip all year long. At this point, they’re pretty close to a playoff lock, and the bigger question is how much damage they can do once they get there. Maybe a lot.
Possible 2022-23 candidate: Detroit Red Wings
I’m pretty sure we won’t get the front-office shakeup, and there’s no Artemi Panarin on the roster that I can find (although there might be the cap room to buy one). There are some other similar pieces, including the good young goaltender, the excellent young defenseman and the very good first-line center who might have another level. Could the Red Wings make a big leap forward next year, straight into the mix at the top of the division? They’d need more than a few things to break exactly right for it to happen. Then again, we thought the same about the Rangers.
Continued (paywall); I’m pretty sure that the Red Wings don’t need a front office shake-up, and yes, the Red Wings need another defenseman or two and another center or two, but those things will be addressed by the draft and free agency–and, if Yzerman has anything to do with it, a trade or two.
The timeline is just…a little extended.
