Sportsnet’s staff posted a lengthy article assessing the Atlantic Division’s teams, and they’ve ranked the Red Wings in their third tier: “How High Can They Go?“
DETROIT RED WINGS
Key additions: Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Klim Kostin, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, Jeff Petry, James Reimer
Key subtractions: Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter,Expectations: Do you still believe in the Yzerplan? Admittedly, this has not gone quite as patiently as many expected, as the Red Wings haven’t been shy to spend money on middle-of-the-lineup contributors, presumably to speed up the process and introduce a winning culture. The results have been improving, little by little, but last season’s Wings still finished over 10 points off the playoff pace.
This summer, GM Steve Yzerman made a splash for a top-liner, acquiring Alex DeBrincat, who they need to return as a 40-goal scorer or something close to it. But these Wings will be competing against the more deliberate rebuilders from Ottawa, Buffalo and even Montreal to rise up, and have to hope one of the contenders atop the division steps down. The Red Wings might be at the lower end of this tier, and you might even be able to argue for them to join Montreal at the bottom. Behind that, though, progress needs to be made.
