Getting tired of the condescending tone with which NHL pundits are issuing platitudes about the Red Wings being destined to stink this upcoming season? I am.
It’s aggravating to be patted on the head and told, “There there, hockey partisan, your team will be fine in a couple of years, presuming that Steve Yzerman isn’t the total managerial moron that I suggested during my summertime columns.”
Well, that tone almost continues today as The Athletic’s ever-prolific Sean McIndoe offers “Hope for the NHL’s 10 most hopeless teams in 2023-24,” though I’ll readily admit that McIndoe offers a sympathetic ear toward the fact that the fans of teams that aren’t projected to do well are pretty tired of hockey predictions by now:
The projections say: 85 points, and a 14 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Why they’re probably right: The Red Wings should be better than last year, with Alex DeBrincat on the top line and other reinforcements added. But the Atlantic is stacked, with four established teams meaning there may only be one playoff spot available. The model likes the Senators and Sabres better, and it’s hard to argue. The Red Wings just don’t seem to have the ceiling that Ottawa or Buffalo do, leaving a disappointing seventh-place finish as the most likely outcome.
But hear me out: You don’t have to squint all that hard to see the Wings being the best of the three young Atlantic teams. Both Ottawa and Buffalo have questions in goal, and while there’s a gap in upside talent, it’s not necessarily huge. If DeBrincat finds his 40-goal scoring pace again, and Moritz Seider moves back into the Norris discussion without Ben Chiarot dragging him down, then the Wings are right there. Mix in some luck when it comes to injuries and goaltending, and Detroit could be the team leading the way for that one spot.
But wait — are we sure there’s only one spot in the Atlantic? The Panthers weren’t very good last year until the playoffs, and their blue line is hurting. The Bruins lost Patrice Bergeron and should take a big step back. The Maple Leafs are the Maple Leafs. And the Lightning losing Andrei Vasilevskiy for two months could shake up the entire division. Maybe this is the year of a big shift in the division, and if so the Wings are well-positioned to slide in and take advantage.
Convincing? Hopefully, because it only gets tougher from here.
Continued (paywall); I know that McIndoe means well. I appreciate the fact that he means well. I’m just a little weary of the, “Well, if all goes well, your team’s destined to be a ‘mushy middle’ team that’s first-round fodder” spiel. That’s not Sean’s fault.
