Amongst this evening’s Red Wings-related content:
- CBS Sports’ Austin Nivison posted a set of power rankings for the first week of the 2023-2024 season…
22. Red Wings: There is potential for the Red Wings to finish much higher than this ranking. The addition of Alex DeBrincat gives them a much-needed scoring touch at the top of the lineup, but there are still several questions about this roster. The forward depth leaves something to be desired, and the blue line is questionable outside of Moritz Seider and Jake Walman. There is pressure for the Yzerplan to come together this season, but Detroit might fall shy of a playoff spot once again.
2. USA Today’s Mary Clarke sounded similar notes in her power rankings…
23. Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings were incredibly active this offseason, bringing in names like Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry, among others. That much turnover usually results in a bit of a transitionary period as players find chemistry with one another and get used to the new systems in place. Even though these moves make the Red Wings objectively better, it likely isn’t enough to save them from a bullish Atlantic Division.
3. And the New York Post’s Larry Brooks offers this take on the Wings’ status in his preseason NHL preview, deeming Detroit to inhabit the NHL’s “mushy middle”:
The Red Wings continue to build under GM Steve Yzerman, but not with the immediate results the GM enjoyed in Tampa Bay. It’s getting a little bit late for a team that hit on Moritz Seider but whiffed like the Whammer in “The Natural,” on 2018 sixth-overall Filip Zadina, taken a pick ahead of Quinn Hughes.
Zadina, now a San Jose Shark, was drafted by Ken Holland and Tyler Wright. Steve Yzerman was not a part of the Red Wings’ organization at the time.
And it’s early yet.
