Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon offers “best and worst-case scenarios” for every Atlantic Division team today, and here’s what he discerns might happen for the Detroit Red Wings, good and bad alike:
Detroit Red Wings
Key additions Viktor Arvidsson, W; Daniil Tarasov, G; Keegan Kolesar, W
Key subtractions Parick Kane, W
Cap space today $19,572,084
Best case A home-run trade involving captain Dylan Larkin and soft reset
Worst case Being the worst team in a strong division by some margin
Training camp may be right around the corner, but there are still so many questions in Detroit. The Wings still have not named a successor to former GM Steve Yzerman and it’s unclear if the new person has a chance to save the marriage with captain Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade following last season.
You can argue best-case for the Wings is actually Larkin returning to the fold and carrying on as a squad with some strong pieces that can challenge for a playoff spot. That said, similar iterations of this squad have not been good enough to crack the top eight in recent years and you wonder if the best move would be seeking out a strong return of young prospects on the verge of NHL duty who can join the likes of Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond in trying to push the Red Wings further in future seasons.
They may have already topped out in the Larkin Era.
If you had to lay a nickel on who will finish last in the Atlantic right now, Detroit is probably the bet. Worst-case scenario is also reasonable-case scenario.
Really, though, the only thing that would make a last-place finish a true nightmare is more of the bad lottery luck Detroit experienced during Yzerman’s tenure.
Continued; the Wings are in such flux right now that I have no idea what’s really going to happen to the team. Could the Wings make a playoff run, at least for a Wild Card spot, given how stacked the Atlantic Division appears to be? Sure.
Could they suck and struggle all year long? Sure.
What happens with Dylan Larkin? I don’t know.
What’s Simon Edvinsson’s asking price? I’m not certain.
Does DeBrincat stay? I hope so.
What happens with the GM? I also don’t know…But that’s okay.
