ESPN’s Neil Paine “tiered” 12 bubble playoff teams into several desperation levels this morning, and he has the Red Wings “hanging on by a thread”:
Detroit Red Wings (20-19)
Playoff odds: 21%
Where to begin with the Wings? This team once made the playoffs in 25 straight seasons but hasn’t made it back in eight (going on nine) years — repeatedly teasing its fans with a return in recent seasons. But unlike last season, when Detroit was looking solid for the postseason until the tail end of the schedule, these Red Wings have seen their odds slowly slide throughout the first half, only recently making a modest climb to their current level around 20%. It is mystifying how a team with Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider is fighting for its playoff life and trying to keep one of the NHL’s prestige franchises from reaching the doorstep of a decade-long playoff drought, but here we are.
Must improve: Depth. Detroit’s top players — all under age 30 — would be the envy of many NHL teams. But the Red Wings have gotten the 10th-fewest adjusted goals above replacement (GAR) from outside their top five of any roster in the league.
Special panic factor: Impatience! It spoke volumes when a testy Steve Yzerman snapped at a reporter a few weeks ago when asked about his team’s never-ending rebuild. The Red Wings have been at this for a long time, and it’s surprising they haven’t had their breakthrough under the “Yzerplan” yet.
Continued; we know that the Wings need more scoring depth already. Some of the Red Wings’ veterans need to step up, and so do some of the “kids” in Grand Rapids.
