The Athletic’s Pittsburgh Penguins correspondent, Josh Yohe, is ranking the NHL’s 31 non-Pittsburgh travel destinations by their desirability, and he ranks Detroit 22nd overall, but not for the reasons you’d expect:
22. Detroit Red Wings
Positives
• Little Caesars Arena is the NHL’s best building.
• Easy drive, though the weather can get nasty in the winter.
• Detroit is on the upswing and a very underrated town.
• The Penguins play here on a Saturday afternoon, which makes for great convenience.Negatives
• The rivalry isn’t what it once was.
• This isn’t a tropical trip.
• The Penguins are missing the annual car convention in Detroit by a week, which is bad timing.
The Wings host Pittsburgh in the back half of a home-and-home series on Saturday, January 3rd at 12 PM, so…
Insider tip
If you care only about hockey and not experiencing the city, stay in Toledo — about an hour south — and make the 60-minute drive to Detroit on game day. It’s cheaper and less hassle that way. (Come to think of it, because the Penguins play in Detroit on a Saturday afternoon, you can do a day trip from Pittsburgh if you don’t mind waking up early.)
Final word
Let Detroit into your heart. I wouldn’t have said this 15 years ago, but I’m telling you, it’s on the way back. Plus, Red Wings fans (and Michiganders in general) are as friendly as it gets. Fun little trip.
Continued; as someone whose dad worked as a Wayne County probation officer during the “bad old days” of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, it’s a welcome relief to hear someone say that Detroit’s on its way back. I still keep my head on a swivel downtown, but it’s not what it used to be…
Again, nice to hear that LCA gets props as a superb rink, too, and while Michiganders may not think that the Penguins are the NHL’s hottest franchise, our Midwestern temperament aids in being helpful/friendly overall…
But it does suck for Pens fans to miss the Auto Show, and to quote Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler from the Big Bang Theory, “Detroit is beautiful when it’s sleeting.” And January in Detroit is that kind of season for all of Michigan.
So as a Detroit-born, Garden City-raised Red Wings partisan, I’ll take the compliments and run with ’em.
