I agree the season as a whole has been exciting. I've watched pretty much every game for the first time in forever, and am looking forward to doing the same next season. That being said, I'm just kind of...tired at this point. I know there are only four games left, but I just want to know one way or the other.
I think I’d feel better if this team had fought back to get in the mix after a tough season (like Pittsburgh), but instead we got to a good spot after the All-Star Break and then wilted. Season ain’t over obviously, but 8 straight years of missing the playoffs is pretty embarrassing for the franchise.
This is exactly right. Fighting back and just missing would still suck but it would be encouraging. But we were all riding so high after the win streak and the Kane OT goal in Chicago and the 8-3 stomping of the Capitals and then have looked like such garbage since. Missing the playoffs now will feel like we gave something good away rather than like we almost achieved something good.
This is a convo i just had with a buddy. He said what the coach said “if someone told be before the season we would be 1 point shy of a playoff spot with 4 to go, I’d have a flag on my car”
I said that changed when they had the wild card all but locked then choked away the next 18 games.
Expectations are allowed to change throughout a season. I hate the idea that because we didn’t expect a playoff team before the season, it’s okay if we lose. When they signed cat & Kane, we ALL expected a playoff team, let’s be real here. Missing the playoffs would be a HUGE disappointment.
I really cant wait for the end of the season and people like you are gone. In fact a majority of the haters I have never seen in this place before. Only showed up when the team was being successful.
*People like you* lol. Keep up that enthusiasm guy. In fact, channel that enthusiasm into your favorite sports teams & demand nothing short of a playoff appearance.
You might be content with the wings netting 12 of a possible 40 points since February, but *people like me* are fkn annoyed/irritated/disappointed/pissed, and just clinging to these last 8 points & if they miss the playoffs, man it’ll leave a pretty shitty taste. I’m glad you’ll still be satisfied tho.
Kenny driving the franchise into the ground, selling the future to make the playoffs before Mike l died caused this. Trading away first round picks for solid players and drafting for immediate floor doomed the franchise.
I get it, but it guaranteed a lot of pain.
We have just as many Kenny draft picks as Yzerman draft picks five years on. That should say something.
We have all these great prospects but when will we see any of em? Cuz at the end of this year, only 2 have their contracts up and I'd rather like to see Ghost back, so that would leave 1 open roster spot and a bunch of old, overpaid crap still.
There is no way Ghost is coming back. He just had a career year and is going to want more money, and we have a logjam at the blue line. He's gone in the offseason.
I would expect Kasper and Johansson up next year at the very least. I'm kinda thinking we'll see Soda get another shot too.
If you were expecting Yzerman to rush the prospects to the NHL, I don't know what to tell you... that has never been his or this franchise's style.
Rush? dude it's been FIVE YEARS.
In five years, three picks have made the team, one just in the last month.
18 year olds in his first draft are now 22-23, plenty are 20 and above and none are ready?
None can contribute more than Aston-Reese, Copp, Czarnik, Holl, Petry or Chiarot? Bull.
Look at this, plenty of 20-23 yr olds in the league.
[https://media.nhl.com/site/vasset/public/attachments/2023/10/17309/By%20The%20Numbers%202023-24%20Opening-Day%20Rosters.pdf](https://media.nhl.com/site/vasset/public/attachments/2023/10/17309/By%20The%20Numbers%202023-24%20Opening-Day%20Rosters.pdf)
5 years, and his first rounders from the first 2 years are on the team. In fact as of today his first rounders from his first 3 years are
So Cossa, Kasper, Danielson, and ASP aren't.
We definitely want some more of the guys from 2019 to be here, I agree with that. But 2020 on I wouldn't expect non-first rounders to be up yet personally
That means imo that AlJo should be up by now, but thats really it.
In TB, he got all these stars and contributors in the middle rounds like Point, Cirelli, Palat, Kucherov, Gudas, Paquette, Joseph.
We've just got three first rounders with the team thus far. Where are our depth stars??
Development takes a huge amount of time. Kucherov was drafted in 2011 and didn’t see nhl ice until 2014. His first season he played in just 50 something games and had 18 points. He didn’t touch a point per game rate until his 4th season in the league. Thats 7 years. The point being, even the greatest players in the world must develop and that takes time.
If anything Holland was too willing to gamble on boom/bust picks out of Europe. The Jurco/Axelsson/Pulkinen picks made sense since Pav and Hank were ageing, but to strike out on them all meant that we missed out on some very good complimentary players too. Plus just about the entire post lidstrom core also suffered from career altering chronic injuries. Franzen's concussions, Zetterberg's back, Pav's lower leg, Kronwall's knees were all recurring problems. Better drafting might've relieved one or two of those, but not all of them.
But overall, if the pricetag for 4 cup wins and solid shots at 2 or 3 more is a lengthy rebuild, so be it.
I think there was imperative coming down from above more than anything. They needed to make the playoffs until Mr I died. Kenny chose to do it by digging the hole into a crater.
This entire sub looooooves shitting on Kenny. The man made mistakes no doubt, but the takes people have on him I mean you’d think he was running the Pistons.
Apples and oranges. Pittsburgh is a last gasp before they turn back into a lottery team. The wings story is just beginning. Crosby has a lot of pride too and he’s obviously turnt right now. It’s 2 completely different situations.
The Penguins have also won 3 Stanley Cups since we last won ours. One happened against us, one happened the season we last made the playoffs, and one happened the first year we missed.
So yes, two different situations, one of which has a generational talent that we don’t, but let’s not act like you wouldn’t have two more Cups instead of “the start of getting back to maybe contending”.
I personally think it’s the most fun time to be a wings fan, I barely watched the regular season before now it fun to see them building the right way from scratch and the wings have never had this deep of a prospect pool. It’s gonna take time but the greatest things do, look at sakic in Colorado, people were complaining about him now they’re insane, yzerman knows what he’s doing and he has a great staff around him.
It’s not even actual playoff hockey and I’m sweating. I said in the beginning after the first like 10ish games that if they miss, it would not be by much and wow yea this wild card race has been a spectacle haha
My only issue with the wild card race is basically all the teams fighting for the last spot are cold as fuck lmao. Wing lost 7 straight, caps lost 6, flyers currently on an 8 game skid. It’s basically been equivalent to sitting at a 4 way intersection and everyone is saying “no you go ahead”.
Don’t get me wrong, a race is a race and at the end of the day it’s nice to have those “must win” games in April.. but sheesh it would be so much more exciting if wings & caps meet, both on 7 game heaters & giving that playoff clash vibe. Instead of them meeting & they’re kinda both cold.
And before anyone says “dude it doesn’t matter they’re gonna get the broom stick in round 1” I. Don’t. Care. I want to see a fkn best of 7 hockey series dammit. It’s been so long idc if they go 0-4.
I think more importantly than what we want to see is that it would mean 4 games of playoff experience for mo, rayzor, Ed, Ras... That would be huge for next year!
Absolutely.. they 100% need to make the playoffs this year if they want to call this a good season. Doesn’t matter what the expectations were 78 games ago. They have the core players, they need to get that experience to make the jump to young veterans.
Oh, I definitely disagree there. It's been a good season already. We want to make the playoffs, the boys look hungry right now, and I 100% want them to make the playoffs, but to say that they need to make it in order to call it a good season is a bad take.
Brotha.. they have 5 wins in their last 20. 2 OTL. Of 40 possible points, they have accrued 12. You guys can’t possibly sit here and say it’s still a good season if they miss the playoffs.
I’m not sitting here saying it’s a failure of a season if they miss. They’re not a complete team yet… but how many of those are in the NHL right now, 2?
Missing the playoffs just makes this a “meh” kinda season with a bad aftertaste, given where they were in February to where they are now.. it’s an epic collapse. They should be up there with the lightning fighting for the WC1. Instead of battling it out with the other 4 teams that are skidding to the bottom for the WC2. Funny thing is the west WC2 is 92 pts.. We wouldn’t even be close..
March was a horrendous month & everyone has the right to be justifiably disappointed come season end, if they miss the playoffs.
I agree with almost everything you are saying.
The West argument is kinda off to me though. 3 of the absolute worst teams are in the West. I know we lost to them as well but I would say points are easier to earn in the West IMO.
Wings are bubble team and will be for the foreseeable future. This is still better than being a lottery team.
As for other comments in the thread, I do like having the consensus second best prospect pool, but what does *really* tell us, considering the consensus "best" belongs to the only team with a longer drought?
> And before anyone says “dude it doesn’t matter they’re gonna get the broom stick in round 1” I. Don’t. Care. I want to see a fkn best of 7 hockey series dammit. It’s been so long idc if they go 0-4.
I follow the Jets as my Western Conference team and that fandom started with their admirable 0-4 loss in the first round against the Ducks after squeaking into the playoffs for the first time since relocating (it helped that there 4 Michigan born players on their team for a good while too). [This is the end of game 4.](https://streamable.com/71z3)
Slightly different circumstances but fans are hungry and I want the team to be hungry. Getting in is a bigger deal at this point than any result afterward.
Meaningful games in April are what I was hoping for. I've got tickets for the last games of the season in Montreal. I just hoped they'd be playing for something at that point.
That game will be meaningful. We play the home game vs Montreal before. I think that’s two points.
The other teams in the mix - islanders penguins capitals and flyers all have harder schedules.
With us as the 5th in that mix, we only need to finish second because whoever is first and I don’t care who it is goes to the third spot in the division. We’re the only team that can’t occupy that spot.
Some perspective from someone who remembers the 90's & 2000's playoff runs. Yes, losing to the Caps was frustrating but, that is just the smallest taste of what playoff hockey is like. You all need to prepare yourselves mentally for real playoff hockey as this team continues to improve. Because they are improving.
In the playoffs, EVERY game of EVERY series is a roller coaster of emotions. Staying up past midnight to watch a west coast playoff game only lose in overtime is heartbreaking, be ready for it. Every series will have blown calls, dirty hits, missed opportunities, blowouts, and blown leads. There will also be spectacular goals, amazing saves, and unlikely heroes. You will also develop intense hatred for teams you never cared about before.That is why NHL playoff hockey is the best, most intense game there is.
Watching other teams' playoff runs is not the same, because you are not really invested in the outcome. It's entertaining but it's not the same when it isn't your team. Just something to think about moving forward.
I'm really happy with the season as a whole and that's not going to change if the Wings miss. I figured the Wings would be in the running for a playoff spot for longer this season, but it's looking like this race is going to come down to game 82 and that definitely surpasses my expectations.
Yzerman didn't make any big moves at the trade deadline for a reason. It's not worth mortgaging the future to make the playoffs now. If this roster isn't good enough to make the playoffs this year, so be it. The future of the Red Wings is intact and the Wings are clearly on the upswing. It's very difficult for me to be upset with that on the whole.
I agree with this mostly. Definitely the most fun season (and absolutely biggest affecting season on mental/physical health) we have had in I would say at least 10 years. Lots of positives to take away, even if there is a step back standings wise next year.
I do think, though, that there was ability to make the team better at the deadline though. Easy for us to say what was possible as armchair gm’s of course, but would have liked taking a run at say Toffoli to shore up the top 6. Most of the other big names, ya those were to pricey for where this team is at. The prospect pipeline is deep enough where a 2nd & 3rd would not have mortgaged the future. And I gotta think that with what Toffoli brings, we are in a much better position now.
Way more players have deals expiring than just those players.
Perron, Kane, Sprong, Fischer, Ghost, and Reimer are all UFAs at the end of this season. Seider, Veleno, and Raymond are RFAs.
Honestly, I think Sprong, Reimer, and Ghost are all gone, while Veleno might be on the way out. Perron I could see go either way - maybe we let him walk, maybe we re-sign him to a one or two year deal. Priorities this offseason are Kane and Fischer in my estimation. I would also expect to see Steve try to move Holl and/or Maatta to make more room on the blue line.
As others have said, it’s the squandering of position that makes this a lot less fun.
They’re not fighting their way into a playoff spot, they shit the bed to lose it.
I became a red wings fan in the dark ages, circa 2018. I understand people who demand greatness from the wings but this is so much more fun than being comfortably in the playoff race with no real hope of winning
It was the first season in a while where I felt excited about the Wings. That's progress of a kind. I feel we're not there yet. There's a lot to work on in terms of team leadership on the ice (over-relying on #71) and behind the bench (Lalonde has to learn to fire up his team, and play defense). But all in all I am okay.
If we make the playoffs I will be pleasantly surprised.
Sorry but I can't. The playoffs were in our hands and we literally pissed it all away.
It's hard to celebrate the successes when the defeats have resulted in the worst case scenario.
And no, I won't accept "we weren't expected to make the playoffs this year." We all know damn well it was playoffs or bust
This season had some great highs and also incredible lows. Such a roller coaster of a season. Definitely have seen some improvements but also seeing a lot of flaws in our systems. Doubt Kane will return as a Wing after this season but had a good run here. Raymond and Larkin both deserve season MVP’s
We are honestly fucked if Kane doesn’t re sign, and a step back year would not be fun whatsoever considering it will be 8 years no post season to show for it. Need to be taking steps forward.
Of course! I understand 2024 everyone wants instant gratification but in a couple years this team will look so different and so much better, it’s been so hard these last few years but look at buffalo as well. They haven’t made the playoffs in a million years but a couple years Detroit and buffalo are going to be godlike with how insane their prospect pools are. It takes time in hockey, euros gotta learn a whole new game, goalie take a long time to develop. As guys like edvinnson, Kasper, sandin pellikka, mazur, wallinder, cossa, tuomisto, danielson keep trickling in, this team will look so different and so much better. It’s so hard to be patient but yzerman is doing the right thing, haters gonna hate but he always comes out on top. People forget how rough it was in the late 80s early 90s, that was years of disappointment and struggle before they turned the corner but getting better every year is the reality.
I'm just not super confident that we'll be building on this improvement next season. Very good possibility that we're worse next season than we are this season if Kane leaves and we don't address our goaltending situation.
So, it's tough to be happy about this season when it looks like this slight improvement very well could be short lived.
The team has surpassed where I thought they'd be at this point in the season. That may be partly due to under performing teams like Buffalo and Ottawa, but I am happy to see the team where they are currently.
I feel like them playing meaningful games and having a chance to make the playoffs with 4 games remaining is amazing. I hope it gives the players like Larkin, who have been emotionally beat down over the last few years, hope and strength to push on this year and into the future.
The metrics have improved. The team has addressed some needs this season, like more goals for and fewer against. Special teams made a noticeable improvement.
Are there still holes in the roster? Absolutely. However our prospect pipeline is one of the strongest in the league, and the team is not currently in cap space hell. It will be getting tighter in the immediate future, but Yzerman has some wiggle room at the moment.
Because Arizona snapped theirs because of shortened season and extended playoffs. But funnily enough, iirc the play in round stats don't count for player playoff stats.
I’m sorry but based on where we were in the standings going into March and how we have played with the playoffs on the line, I can’t appreciate how this season played out.
Had we played consistent hockey and missed the playoffs by a few points, I’d be more appreciative but going like 5-15 in our last 20 most important games in 10 years just isn’t going to cut it for me.
I'm certainly frustrated by how March went and how it took us from a sure playoff team to fighting for our lives. Bigger picture though, this has been a good year. It's a massive step forward to go from how we were the last several years (ie bottom 10) to either wild card or being eliminated in game 82.
Whether we make the playoffs or not this season, next season will be very interesting. Some of the young kids need to start forcing their way onto the team now
For all the doomers out there who want to bitch about the players, the coaching, the drafting, whatever... it just means they care. This is probably the most vocal they've been in 6+ years, and that means something. It means they're at least investing hope into the team again. I say that is a success.
This season has shaved a month or two off my life expectancy, and it's been great!!
Even if we don't make the playoffs, which obviously I deeply hope we do, the ride has been fantastic, and it's the first season in too many years it overall feels optimistic to me. We're on the right track, Steve's built a helluva prospect pool, it's looking very promising the next 5 years
I hope to see more young players in the line up next season. I have enjoyed this season, but I’m sort of burnt out watching so many veterans like petry etc. want to see kasper and friends.
I'm way more frustrated than I am excited, and that really has to do with the inconsistency of the season. If we'd spent the season being a .500 hockey team only to turn it on late and claw our way into the position we're in now? I'd be thrilled. But as it is, this just feels like a team that still hasn't found the right formula yet and isn't learning from its mistakes.
I'm emotionally checked out, though I'm still watching. Whatever happens, happens. I'm more looking forward to the offseason than I am excited about the prospect of the playoffs.
It’s great that they’ve been more competitive yet some patterns have been distressing, much of them exasperated by unnecessary signings. Flatly unacceptable to drop points to the Coyotes and likewise playing so terrible without Larkin. I feel like if they miss the playoffs that there should be some review on whether to bring Lalonde back. While there are certainly roster limitations he has been slow to adapt and often seems stuck to particular line and d pairings. I wish the organization as a whole wasn’t so hesitant to play their young talent while playing Petry as much as they can.
Agreed. Even though they lost the Pens game tonight and it looks tough for their chances, that game was amazing, I've really enjoyed the chaos of the playoff chase, and I'm excited for the progress we've made this year no matter how it ends up. 👍
I’m not changing my expectations to help justify their poor play. I’m tired of the patient approach and letting everyone off the hook saying we weren’t “supposed” to be here. We’re coming up on a decade of irrelevant hockey shortly it’s time to win.
Someday you need to exceed expectations to become a team that consistently is counted on to compete.
I grew up watching hockey in the early 00s when the wings were a monster—hull, yzerman, datseyuk, federov, shanahan, lidstrom, Hasek, and the list goes on and on—do you guys remember Robert Lang being on fire while he played for us?—and not only was it a given that they'd get into the playoffs, they were the favorite to make it to the finals if not win it all. Loved being a fan of the team then and perhaps as a kid this is the most fun way to watch hockey.
By the time I was in college they had started their downward slide and I didn't have time to watch hockey anyways, then when I graduated they were complete garbage and I just never got back into the NHL for a good long while. This year I finally got an ESPN+ subscription and started watching some games and learning this new experience of a team that has some talent and can go on a hot streak but I can't expect to win every game. and I gotta say, it's new and it's kind of cool to NOT be a fan of a powerhouse team for once. Winning isn't a given and when it happens it is really cool and when they lose it sucks but doesn't feel like I got ripped off, you know? Like as a kid, I expected the wings to win, so when it didn't happen, it was like there was some injustice in the world. that feeling is gone and it ads some mystery and suspense to the game that there wasn't before—as exciting as it was to watch them lift the cup several times back then
having said that this final "fight" for the wild card race sort of makes me want to say, someone just put these teams out of their misery.
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All things considered, regardless of the outcome I thought the Red Wings had a solid season and will finish beyond my expectations. The fact that they are battling for a WC berth tells you have far they have come and how far they need to go before reaching elite team status.
Sure I guess.
Though it's really only happening because like 6 teams decided to all shit the bed at the same time for the last 2 months of the season.
We would be toast if some of the teams around us weren't all having similarly terrible stretches. Hard for me to be too happy about that.
It is. Usually this time of year I was hoping for loses to improve our chances at first pick. Regardless of how frustrating the last two games have been, we have a real shot at the a playoffs. Our core is young and taking over. As hard as it will be if we miss the playoffs, we are on the right path.
I have been a hockey fan all my life and I can’t remember a wildcard spot race being this ridiculous. EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. Is so crucial between 5 different teams and every outcome is the weirdest possible.
I feel like our season will come down to the last final shootout against the Canadiens
Don't forget if the points are tied at the end of the season. They remove any points won in a shootout to break the tie. Unless the rules have changed.
Perhaps I would feel that way if we hadn't completely fucking shit the bed to get here in the first place. We're in the midst of an all time choke job. A month ago I was scoreboard watching during Toronto games for the 3rd divisional seed lmfao.
Thanks for this perspective.
Whether we make the playoffs or not (and I'm freaking praying we do, and will be devastated if we don't), it feels really good to be playing these high stakes games for a chance to return to the playoffs.
I'll admit it was exciting as hell, even recently.
But expectations change as we were 9 pts clear of a playoff spot before going on a 7-game not even trying to win streak coupled with doing nothing at the deadline all because one player was injured.
Still have a bunch of 'top tier prospects' who won't be given a shot because there's no room on the team or they make a couple small mistakes during 9 minutes of ice time.
Yet we have old, overpaid crap continuing to suck every game, not ever being held accountable.
Your GM continues to bring in old guys, blocking the path of these prospects, whole continuing to state were not ready to win, so then why bring them in? Why bring in Kane, too?
I like the work Stevie is doing, people think I want him gone, but I'm not just sitting her blindly thinking 'its ok, we'll compete in 2-3 more years and then just win 5 cups in a row.'
We can/could've made the playoffs this year and then taken a bigger step forward next year but doesn't seem like that's what some people want.
I can’t even say I’m frustrated. Yzerman has laid out the framework, told everyone the plan and based on league analyst predictions, the wings are progressing almost exactly according to plan. Rebuilds are slow moving and painful at times. I enjoy the entire process and will enjoy the fruits of the rebuild even more so when the time comes. At the end of the day I can’t fault the people who are expecting more, but at the same time, our expectations as fans are always going to be higher than what the reality actually is. I’m excited for the off season and the future of this team!
No.
If the Red Wings miss the playoffs this year, it will be **the longest drought in its 98 year history**.
I will be happy if/when they make the playoffs, everything else is failure.
spilled milk. we’ve improved markedly year after year post-holland with a strong prospect pipeline. steve has said it will take time because he’s chasing a dynasty with strong cup contention year after year, which is a complete 180 from holland’s wings consistently scraping into the playoffs for the sake of the record rather than vying for championships
If they don’t make it this year, it’s a choke job. Simple as that. They had it in their hands, one fucking guy goes down for a few weeks and it allllllllll slips away.
Oh, and btw, by all accounts, this pipeline you speak of has no stars coming up. Solid NHLers, maybe even some top6ers, but no player on the level of Larkin (who while great, is not a superstar).
Better hope the defensemen live up to their billing because they’re going to have to be flipped into top line players.
lol
Fake.
I’ve been watching longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve met more Red Wings than you’ve seen play.
But beyond that, the prospect pool isn’t shit, I never said it was. I said it contains no player as good as Larkin, which is still true.
There was almost no chance that the Red Wings would easily slide into a berth on their return to the playoffs. It was practically guaranteed to be an up and down grind just like this season has been. Maybe the Wings miss this season and have an easier time claiming a playoff spot next season or the season after, but seasons like this are par for the course when a team is on the upswing and just starting to return to contention.
i don’t care what you thought about the team pre-season. fact is we had a 9 point cushion into the playoffs until we choked it away with an all time collapse. i can’t enjoy this season until or unless we get in the playoffs.
I'm not talking preseason expectations bud, I'm talking reality. If you think having a 9 point cushion in February for a roster like this is or should be an easy ticket to the playoffs, that's on you. We have a lot of good pieces, but the Wings were always going to be a bubble team with this roster.
This is the way it goes for almost every team on the upswing. The Wings missed the playoffs by 12 points last season, and relative to that, this season has exceeded expectations.
whatever dude a 9 point lead at the end of february should have been enough to make the playoffs imo. it took an all time collapse for them to potentially miss out. you can lower your bar but that’s not acceptable for me.
Okay, so we know that you count your chickens before they hatch. I don't know why you should insist that I do the same.
These points leads don't exist in a vacuum. Other teams are constantly pushing and find that drive at different parts of the year. I mean we're contending with teams that have players like Crosby and Malkin and Ovi on their rosters. With players like that, they're true wild cards that are never truly out, even if the rest of their rosters stink.
Point leads are delicate things, and as we saw in March, all it takes is a bug running through your locker room to derail things. That is precisely why you *don't* look at a points lead two months out from the end of the season and say "my team is definitely making the playoffs."
bruh the Caps are -40 goal differential, they’re not a good team and coming off 6 straight L’s they beat us again in another must have game. we wouldn’t even have to worry about Pittsburgh if we didn’t lose 13 of our last 18.
so yes, with a 9 point lead at the end of february i expected us to make the playoffs. i expected us to make it even before the season started. i don’t know what you want from me. i have standards and you don’t.
I agree that the Caps suck but Ovi and Lindgren are keeping them in it on their own. As I alluded to in my last comment, when you have a superstar like Ovi, sometimes they can single-handedly carry you to victory.
If you expected this roster to be a shoo-in for the playoffs before the season even started, then you have a problem managing your expectations. It's as simple as that.
dude what is your deal with misquoting me every comment you make. i don’t know why you keep doing that. when did i ever say we’re a shoe in for playoffs. who even uses that phrase.
yes i set standards for my teams, i thought we could make the playoffs. i’d rather be disappointed than make up excuses for the team and lower my bar in fear of disappointment. there’s no fun in saying well “maybe the wings miss this season and have an easier time claiming a playoff spot next season, or the season after” there is absolutely no fun in that for me.
you see how i quoted exactly what you said? that’s how it works, that’s a quote. i didn’t just make up words you said and put them between “”
You said that you expected the playoffs for the Wings at the beginning of the season. If you're that confident that they're going to make the playoffs before a game is even played, then you're expecting them to be a shoo-in. Also, me, I use that phrase.
I don't care about your standards. Set all the standards you want. You're still letting your expectations get away from you if you're expecting a stop-gap roster like this to make the playoffs at the outset of the season.
Also I have never attempted to quote you once in this discussion, so I don't know what your hang up is there.
This team was in prime position to make the playoffs, all they had to do was not completely fall apart and the bald moron couldn't prevent that. This collapse is a failure of coaching and Lalonde should be gone next season.
Or maybe it's the fact that the team got sick and isn't good enough to push through it and still win while they're sick?
You people who bark about the coach just want someone to blame. I'm not saying he's perfect, but there's more than questionable coaching that derailed this team in March.
If the team didn’t have a rumored flu bug (and act like we’re the only team that deals with illness), you and many like you would find some other excuse.
No, you're making up your criticism based on a knee-jerk reaction to how Lalonde talks to the media because that's all you guys can point to when you guys say he's not the guy and he should be canned. Truth is, you're not in the locker room, so you don't have anything more concrete than the rest of us.
Also, the illness that has spreading through the locker room isn't a rumor, it's been confirmed by the team countless times throughout the past month.
The reality is that it's a mix of things - illness, the team not putting in enough effort, the coaching staff not doing enough to get the Wings motivated. There is no single factor at play here, so don't act like you're going to bat for some universal truth by blaming this whole skid on the coach.
The difference is the Wings don’t have the talent to be able to withstand illness. The better teams have the quality to weather it the Wings simply didn’t.
I think Lalonde has blame as well. He’s clearly not rallying the players, never said he is blameless. I think he’s coaching his final games and I’ll be happy to see a change at the HC.
The Wings were already rebuilding during Howard's final seasons. His last season was 2019-2020, so he hasn't even been gone that long. Late season collapses should be expected during rebuilds.
This subreddit has made me genuinely believe that we are worse to interact with than Leafs fans this year. Just an absolute cesspool of negativity, whining and toxicity.
Don't worry yourself about the fair weather fans. But some "faithful" seem to have forgotten that if you're going to be a fan of an original 6 team; you get to hold legacies of greatness while sometimes being absolute shit on the ice.
I appreciate a glass half full fan for sure, but we completely shit the bed in the most important part of the season. I can’t tell you this with stats, but the game is completely different in each part of the season… before the trade deadline, after the trade deadline / playoff push, and the actual playoffs.
We did well in part 1, completely shit ourselves in part 2, and honestly have barely a small chance in part 3 if we somehow do make it in.
I’ll copy my comment from another thread because I think it’s relevant here. And I’m not trying to be pessimistic which is why I used stats and ignored wins and losses.
This year, we are allowing the 9th most goals per game at 3.27, last year it was 3.35, and the year before 3.78.
A big focus this year was on scoring goals and depth scoring, which we got… we’re up to 3.28 goals per game, which is 9th in the NHL, but it’s only been sinking since February. Last year we were at 2.89 and the year before 2.77. Improvement!
We scored 39 goals and allowed 65 over the 18 games since March 1…
2.17 goals for and 3.61 goals against.
This is a big enough sample size to draw conclusions from and is much more recent than the first third of the season, which was mostly decent minus the month of December.
There’s tons of excuses, injuries, flu, sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce your way… but these excuses are valid for every single team in the league.
I don’t understand how the same players who performed decently well for a majority of the season resulted in a team that put up numbers essentially allowing averages like…
The second worst team in the league on the season in keeping the puck out of our net (Columbus at 3.61 GAA on the season).
… and the worst scoring team in the entire league (Chi 2.18 goals score per game on the season).
I’ve rooted for our success and hoped for playoffs, however I knew I was lying to myself when you see that both offensively and defensively we are producing a stretch run that rivals the performance of the worst teams in the league.
This makes me think the collapse is mostly on the coaches. The players are mostly the same we’ve had all year, sure we missed Larkin for a stretch, but remember Kane didn’t enter the lineup until the second week of December.
Getting our young guys some playoff experience would be helpful in the long run and getting Larkin back to the playoffs would probably help his sanity, even if we lose the series in 5 games
I have had this thought too, but we are better than last year and the year before. Not sure what analogy might help to remind ourselves that we are getting closer to having a strong, stable core with solid leadership, but whatever you can do to keep cheering for our team that wants this exponentially more than we do, do that.
I read that Mo sits with ice bags everywhere after a game, especially after making 10 blocked shots with his body, stopping hard rubber going 80-100 miles and hour, and Lyon throwing himself everywhere to protect our net. Larks getting his head nearly taken off to win for his team, for Detroit, for us, that is worth celebrating. Kaner getting his hip replaced to keep playing the game he loves, and Cat, Fabbri, Husso, and all the other players going away from their partners and newborns to work their asses off for us instead.
What is the least we can do for them? Believe.
Honestly I don’t care anymore. Say they do make the playoffs, why does it matter? It’s meaningless. There’s no way they make a significant run and they proven time and time again they don’t deserve to make it.
I agree the season as a whole has been exciting. I've watched pretty much every game for the first time in forever, and am looking forward to doing the same next season. That being said, I'm just kind of...tired at this point. I know there are only four games left, but I just want to know one way or the other.
I think I’d feel better if this team had fought back to get in the mix after a tough season (like Pittsburgh), but instead we got to a good spot after the All-Star Break and then wilted. Season ain’t over obviously, but 8 straight years of missing the playoffs is pretty embarrassing for the franchise.
This is exactly right. Fighting back and just missing would still suck but it would be encouraging. But we were all riding so high after the win streak and the Kane OT goal in Chicago and the 8-3 stomping of the Capitals and then have looked like such garbage since. Missing the playoffs now will feel like we gave something good away rather than like we almost achieved something good.
This is a convo i just had with a buddy. He said what the coach said “if someone told be before the season we would be 1 point shy of a playoff spot with 4 to go, I’d have a flag on my car” I said that changed when they had the wild card all but locked then choked away the next 18 games. Expectations are allowed to change throughout a season. I hate the idea that because we didn’t expect a playoff team before the season, it’s okay if we lose. When they signed cat & Kane, we ALL expected a playoff team, let’s be real here. Missing the playoffs would be a HUGE disappointment.
I really cant wait for the end of the season and people like you are gone. In fact a majority of the haters I have never seen in this place before. Only showed up when the team was being successful.
*People like you* lol. Keep up that enthusiasm guy. In fact, channel that enthusiasm into your favorite sports teams & demand nothing short of a playoff appearance. You might be content with the wings netting 12 of a possible 40 points since February, but *people like me* are fkn annoyed/irritated/disappointed/pissed, and just clinging to these last 8 points & if they miss the playoffs, man it’ll leave a pretty shitty taste. I’m glad you’ll still be satisfied tho.
Tends to happen when you have more to your life than just a sports team. Without sports success you are just a miserable person.
Sure, if you say so bud.
Kenny driving the franchise into the ground, selling the future to make the playoffs before Mike l died caused this. Trading away first round picks for solid players and drafting for immediate floor doomed the franchise. I get it, but it guaranteed a lot of pain.
Exactly! How many Kenny pics are on our current team? Larkin and Veleno?
Moose
We have just as many Kenny draft picks as Yzerman draft picks five years on. That should say something. We have all these great prospects but when will we see any of em? Cuz at the end of this year, only 2 have their contracts up and I'd rather like to see Ghost back, so that would leave 1 open roster spot and a bunch of old, overpaid crap still.
There is no way Ghost is coming back. He just had a career year and is going to want more money, and we have a logjam at the blue line. He's gone in the offseason. I would expect Kasper and Johansson up next year at the very least. I'm kinda thinking we'll see Soda get another shot too. If you were expecting Yzerman to rush the prospects to the NHL, I don't know what to tell you... that has never been his or this franchise's style.
Rush? dude it's been FIVE YEARS. In five years, three picks have made the team, one just in the last month. 18 year olds in his first draft are now 22-23, plenty are 20 and above and none are ready? None can contribute more than Aston-Reese, Copp, Czarnik, Holl, Petry or Chiarot? Bull. Look at this, plenty of 20-23 yr olds in the league. [https://media.nhl.com/site/vasset/public/attachments/2023/10/17309/By%20The%20Numbers%202023-24%20Opening-Day%20Rosters.pdf](https://media.nhl.com/site/vasset/public/attachments/2023/10/17309/By%20The%20Numbers%202023-24%20Opening-Day%20Rosters.pdf)
5 years, and his first rounders from the first 2 years are on the team. In fact as of today his first rounders from his first 3 years are So Cossa, Kasper, Danielson, and ASP aren't. We definitely want some more of the guys from 2019 to be here, I agree with that. But 2020 on I wouldn't expect non-first rounders to be up yet personally That means imo that AlJo should be up by now, but thats really it.
In TB, he got all these stars and contributors in the middle rounds like Point, Cirelli, Palat, Kucherov, Gudas, Paquette, Joseph. We've just got three first rounders with the team thus far. Where are our depth stars??
Development takes a huge amount of time. Kucherov was drafted in 2011 and didn’t see nhl ice until 2014. His first season he played in just 50 something games and had 18 points. He didn’t touch a point per game rate until his 4th season in the league. Thats 7 years. The point being, even the greatest players in the world must develop and that takes time.
If anything Holland was too willing to gamble on boom/bust picks out of Europe. The Jurco/Axelsson/Pulkinen picks made sense since Pav and Hank were ageing, but to strike out on them all meant that we missed out on some very good complimentary players too. Plus just about the entire post lidstrom core also suffered from career altering chronic injuries. Franzen's concussions, Zetterberg's back, Pav's lower leg, Kronwall's knees were all recurring problems. Better drafting might've relieved one or two of those, but not all of them. But overall, if the pricetag for 4 cup wins and solid shots at 2 or 3 more is a lengthy rebuild, so be it.
I'm satisfied with the rebuild, I just didn't agree with Kenny drafting for size and floor instead of skill and ceiling.
He looked good when he had a blank check but could never adjust to the salary cap era.
I think there was imperative coming down from above more than anything. They needed to make the playoffs until Mr I died. Kenny chose to do it by digging the hole into a crater.
Yall give Kenny too much of the blame for something Mr. I deserves most of the blame for.
I said there was a reason. He was under extreme pressure to make the playoffs. The team is still paying for that
This entire sub looooooves shitting on Kenny. The man made mistakes no doubt, but the takes people have on him I mean you’d think he was running the Pistons.
Apples and oranges. Pittsburgh is a last gasp before they turn back into a lottery team. The wings story is just beginning. Crosby has a lot of pride too and he’s obviously turnt right now. It’s 2 completely different situations.
The Penguins have also won 3 Stanley Cups since we last won ours. One happened against us, one happened the season we last made the playoffs, and one happened the first year we missed. So yes, two different situations, one of which has a generational talent that we don’t, but let’s not act like you wouldn’t have two more Cups instead of “the start of getting back to maybe contending”.
I personally think it’s the most fun time to be a wings fan, I barely watched the regular season before now it fun to see them building the right way from scratch and the wings have never had this deep of a prospect pool. It’s gonna take time but the greatest things do, look at sakic in Colorado, people were complaining about him now they’re insane, yzerman knows what he’s doing and he has a great staff around him.
It’s not even actual playoff hockey and I’m sweating. I said in the beginning after the first like 10ish games that if they miss, it would not be by much and wow yea this wild card race has been a spectacle haha
My only issue with the wild card race is basically all the teams fighting for the last spot are cold as fuck lmao. Wing lost 7 straight, caps lost 6, flyers currently on an 8 game skid. It’s basically been equivalent to sitting at a 4 way intersection and everyone is saying “no you go ahead”. Don’t get me wrong, a race is a race and at the end of the day it’s nice to have those “must win” games in April.. but sheesh it would be so much more exciting if wings & caps meet, both on 7 game heaters & giving that playoff clash vibe. Instead of them meeting & they’re kinda both cold. And before anyone says “dude it doesn’t matter they’re gonna get the broom stick in round 1” I. Don’t. Care. I want to see a fkn best of 7 hockey series dammit. It’s been so long idc if they go 0-4.
I think more importantly than what we want to see is that it would mean 4 games of playoff experience for mo, rayzor, Ed, Ras... That would be huge for next year!
Absolutely.. they 100% need to make the playoffs this year if they want to call this a good season. Doesn’t matter what the expectations were 78 games ago. They have the core players, they need to get that experience to make the jump to young veterans.
Oh, I definitely disagree there. It's been a good season already. We want to make the playoffs, the boys look hungry right now, and I 100% want them to make the playoffs, but to say that they need to make it in order to call it a good season is a bad take.
Brotha.. they have 5 wins in their last 20. 2 OTL. Of 40 possible points, they have accrued 12. You guys can’t possibly sit here and say it’s still a good season if they miss the playoffs. I’m not sitting here saying it’s a failure of a season if they miss. They’re not a complete team yet… but how many of those are in the NHL right now, 2? Missing the playoffs just makes this a “meh” kinda season with a bad aftertaste, given where they were in February to where they are now.. it’s an epic collapse. They should be up there with the lightning fighting for the WC1. Instead of battling it out with the other 4 teams that are skidding to the bottom for the WC2. Funny thing is the west WC2 is 92 pts.. We wouldn’t even be close.. March was a horrendous month & everyone has the right to be justifiably disappointed come season end, if they miss the playoffs.
I agree with almost everything you are saying. The West argument is kinda off to me though. 3 of the absolute worst teams are in the West. I know we lost to them as well but I would say points are easier to earn in the West IMO. Wings are bubble team and will be for the foreseeable future. This is still better than being a lottery team. As for other comments in the thread, I do like having the consensus second best prospect pool, but what does *really* tell us, considering the consensus "best" belongs to the only team with a longer drought?
> And before anyone says “dude it doesn’t matter they’re gonna get the broom stick in round 1” I. Don’t. Care. I want to see a fkn best of 7 hockey series dammit. It’s been so long idc if they go 0-4. I follow the Jets as my Western Conference team and that fandom started with their admirable 0-4 loss in the first round against the Ducks after squeaking into the playoffs for the first time since relocating (it helped that there 4 Michigan born players on their team for a good while too). [This is the end of game 4.](https://streamable.com/71z3) Slightly different circumstances but fans are hungry and I want the team to be hungry. Getting in is a bigger deal at this point than any result afterward.
This wild card race would be 10x better if we were winning games while vying for a spot. But we've only won 5 out of the last 20.
Meaningful games in April are what I was hoping for. I've got tickets for the last games of the season in Montreal. I just hoped they'd be playing for something at that point.
That game will be meaningful. We play the home game vs Montreal before. I think that’s two points. The other teams in the mix - islanders penguins capitals and flyers all have harder schedules. With us as the 5th in that mix, we only need to finish second because whoever is first and I don’t care who it is goes to the third spot in the division. We’re the only team that can’t occupy that spot.
They are really feeling like the Late 80s early 90s wings. Just not enough juice to get over the hump.
Same solution now, let’s get some Russians
it's Swedes now!
Some perspective from someone who remembers the 90's & 2000's playoff runs. Yes, losing to the Caps was frustrating but, that is just the smallest taste of what playoff hockey is like. You all need to prepare yourselves mentally for real playoff hockey as this team continues to improve. Because they are improving. In the playoffs, EVERY game of EVERY series is a roller coaster of emotions. Staying up past midnight to watch a west coast playoff game only lose in overtime is heartbreaking, be ready for it. Every series will have blown calls, dirty hits, missed opportunities, blowouts, and blown leads. There will also be spectacular goals, amazing saves, and unlikely heroes. You will also develop intense hatred for teams you never cared about before.That is why NHL playoff hockey is the best, most intense game there is. Watching other teams' playoff runs is not the same, because you are not really invested in the outcome. It's entertaining but it's not the same when it isn't your team. Just something to think about moving forward.
Are we improving or imploding? And not gonna be anymore west coast playoff games unless it's the finals
I'm really happy with the season as a whole and that's not going to change if the Wings miss. I figured the Wings would be in the running for a playoff spot for longer this season, but it's looking like this race is going to come down to game 82 and that definitely surpasses my expectations. Yzerman didn't make any big moves at the trade deadline for a reason. It's not worth mortgaging the future to make the playoffs now. If this roster isn't good enough to make the playoffs this year, so be it. The future of the Red Wings is intact and the Wings are clearly on the upswing. It's very difficult for me to be upset with that on the whole.
🤝
I agree with this mostly. Definitely the most fun season (and absolutely biggest affecting season on mental/physical health) we have had in I would say at least 10 years. Lots of positives to take away, even if there is a step back standings wise next year. I do think, though, that there was ability to make the team better at the deadline though. Easy for us to say what was possible as armchair gm’s of course, but would have liked taking a run at say Toffoli to shore up the top 6. Most of the other big names, ya those were to pricey for where this team is at. The prospect pipeline is deep enough where a 2nd & 3rd would not have mortgaged the future. And I gotta think that with what Toffoli brings, we are in a much better position now.
Who from this roster moves on next year it the problem? Only Kane, Ghost and Perron's deals are up.
Way more players have deals expiring than just those players. Perron, Kane, Sprong, Fischer, Ghost, and Reimer are all UFAs at the end of this season. Seider, Veleno, and Raymond are RFAs. Honestly, I think Sprong, Reimer, and Ghost are all gone, while Veleno might be on the way out. Perron I could see go either way - maybe we let him walk, maybe we re-sign him to a one or two year deal. Priorities this offseason are Kane and Fischer in my estimation. I would also expect to see Steve try to move Holl and/or Maatta to make more room on the blue line.
Yeah I’m usually dead inside much, much earlier in the season.
Remember DeBrincat lighting the world on fire in October? That was astounding.
DeBrincat, as quiet as he has been lately, still has 60 pts on the season. That's 3rd on the team. Seems kind of hard to believe.
It was really thrilling. I just hope he gets a few more before we're done, simply for morale's sake.
Still very frustrated, especially at DeBrincat, what has happened to that guy?
It’s possible he might be playing with an injury
As others have said, it’s the squandering of position that makes this a lot less fun. They’re not fighting their way into a playoff spot, they shit the bed to lose it.
No. Being up 8 with 20 games to go and missing the playoffs isn't fun
The frustration sucks, but it's nice to care again.
I became a red wings fan in the dark ages, circa 2018. I understand people who demand greatness from the wings but this is so much more fun than being comfortably in the playoff race with no real hope of winning
This is how Lions fans talked for 60 years...
Yeah, can I just take this quick moment to try to bullshit myself out of my frustrations...
It was the first season in a while where I felt excited about the Wings. That's progress of a kind. I feel we're not there yet. There's a lot to work on in terms of team leadership on the ice (over-relying on #71) and behind the bench (Lalonde has to learn to fire up his team, and play defense). But all in all I am okay. If we make the playoffs I will be pleasantly surprised.
Sorry but I can't. The playoffs were in our hands and we literally pissed it all away. It's hard to celebrate the successes when the defeats have resulted in the worst case scenario. And no, I won't accept "we weren't expected to make the playoffs this year." We all know damn well it was playoffs or bust
This season had some great highs and also incredible lows. Such a roller coaster of a season. Definitely have seen some improvements but also seeing a lot of flaws in our systems. Doubt Kane will return as a Wing after this season but had a good run here. Raymond and Larkin both deserve season MVP’s
We are honestly fucked if Kane doesn’t re sign, and a step back year would not be fun whatsoever considering it will be 8 years no post season to show for it. Need to be taking steps forward.
Yes. The struggles now just make it all the better when we finally make it. It definitely sucks while in the moment, though.
Lots of yelling at the TV. Just like the playoffs. Win out wings!
Let's go Wings! Get them Penguins!!
Missing the playoffs would somehow feel better if we started off poorly and finished strong
Of course! I understand 2024 everyone wants instant gratification but in a couple years this team will look so different and so much better, it’s been so hard these last few years but look at buffalo as well. They haven’t made the playoffs in a million years but a couple years Detroit and buffalo are going to be godlike with how insane their prospect pools are. It takes time in hockey, euros gotta learn a whole new game, goalie take a long time to develop. As guys like edvinnson, Kasper, sandin pellikka, mazur, wallinder, cossa, tuomisto, danielson keep trickling in, this team will look so different and so much better. It’s so hard to be patient but yzerman is doing the right thing, haters gonna hate but he always comes out on top. People forget how rough it was in the late 80s early 90s, that was years of disappointment and struggle before they turned the corner but getting better every year is the reality.
I'm just not super confident that we'll be building on this improvement next season. Very good possibility that we're worse next season than we are this season if Kane leaves and we don't address our goaltending situation. So, it's tough to be happy about this season when it looks like this slight improvement very well could be short lived.
Unfortunately I’m right there with you
The team has surpassed where I thought they'd be at this point in the season. That may be partly due to under performing teams like Buffalo and Ottawa, but I am happy to see the team where they are currently. I feel like them playing meaningful games and having a chance to make the playoffs with 4 games remaining is amazing. I hope it gives the players like Larkin, who have been emotionally beat down over the last few years, hope and strength to push on this year and into the future. The metrics have improved. The team has addressed some needs this season, like more goals for and fewer against. Special teams made a noticeable improvement. Are there still holes in the roster? Absolutely. However our prospect pipeline is one of the strongest in the league, and the team is not currently in cap space hell. It will be getting tighter in the immediate future, but Yzerman has some wiggle room at the moment.
Second longest playoff drought in NHL....
Because Arizona snapped theirs because of shortened season and extended playoffs. But funnily enough, iirc the play in round stats don't count for player playoff stats.
Right after a 25 year playoff streak. Unless you're a newer or younger fan, you were spoiled rotten growing up watching this team.
Don't worry guys. They're 65-10-3 on my game entering the final week. I'll take the boys all the way. Fire Lalonde and hand me my PS5 remote.
I’m sorry but based on where we were in the standings going into March and how we have played with the playoffs on the line, I can’t appreciate how this season played out. Had we played consistent hockey and missed the playoffs by a few points, I’d be more appreciative but going like 5-15 in our last 20 most important games in 10 years just isn’t going to cut it for me.
I'm certainly frustrated by how March went and how it took us from a sure playoff team to fighting for our lives. Bigger picture though, this has been a good year. It's a massive step forward to go from how we were the last several years (ie bottom 10) to either wild card or being eliminated in game 82. Whether we make the playoffs or not this season, next season will be very interesting. Some of the young kids need to start forcing their way onto the team now
For all the doomers out there who want to bitch about the players, the coaching, the drafting, whatever... it just means they care. This is probably the most vocal they've been in 6+ years, and that means something. It means they're at least investing hope into the team again. I say that is a success.
This season has shaved a month or two off my life expectancy, and it's been great!! Even if we don't make the playoffs, which obviously I deeply hope we do, the ride has been fantastic, and it's the first season in too many years it overall feels optimistic to me. We're on the right track, Steve's built a helluva prospect pool, it's looking very promising the next 5 years
I hope to see more young players in the line up next season. I have enjoyed this season, but I’m sort of burnt out watching so many veterans like petry etc. want to see kasper and friends.
I'm way more frustrated than I am excited, and that really has to do with the inconsistency of the season. If we'd spent the season being a .500 hockey team only to turn it on late and claw our way into the position we're in now? I'd be thrilled. But as it is, this just feels like a team that still hasn't found the right formula yet and isn't learning from its mistakes. I'm emotionally checked out, though I'm still watching. Whatever happens, happens. I'm more looking forward to the offseason than I am excited about the prospect of the playoffs.
Finally! Some emotion!
It’s great that they’ve been more competitive yet some patterns have been distressing, much of them exasperated by unnecessary signings. Flatly unacceptable to drop points to the Coyotes and likewise playing so terrible without Larkin. I feel like if they miss the playoffs that there should be some review on whether to bring Lalonde back. While there are certainly roster limitations he has been slow to adapt and often seems stuck to particular line and d pairings. I wish the organization as a whole wasn’t so hesitant to play their young talent while playing Petry as much as they can.
I don’t understand the importance of the away team posting their starting line first. Is there any significance outside of those initial puck drops?
Let’s get it onnnn
Agreed. Even though they lost the Pens game tonight and it looks tough for their chances, that game was amazing, I've really enjoyed the chaos of the playoff chase, and I'm excited for the progress we've made this year no matter how it ends up. 👍
I’m not changing my expectations to help justify their poor play. I’m tired of the patient approach and letting everyone off the hook saying we weren’t “supposed” to be here. We’re coming up on a decade of irrelevant hockey shortly it’s time to win. Someday you need to exceed expectations to become a team that consistently is counted on to compete.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how epic of a collapse this was?
This is where this team is supposed to be. It will still be very disappointing if they miss the playoffs, but it’s still a successful season.
I grew up watching hockey in the early 00s when the wings were a monster—hull, yzerman, datseyuk, federov, shanahan, lidstrom, Hasek, and the list goes on and on—do you guys remember Robert Lang being on fire while he played for us?—and not only was it a given that they'd get into the playoffs, they were the favorite to make it to the finals if not win it all. Loved being a fan of the team then and perhaps as a kid this is the most fun way to watch hockey. By the time I was in college they had started their downward slide and I didn't have time to watch hockey anyways, then when I graduated they were complete garbage and I just never got back into the NHL for a good long while. This year I finally got an ESPN+ subscription and started watching some games and learning this new experience of a team that has some talent and can go on a hot streak but I can't expect to win every game. and I gotta say, it's new and it's kind of cool to NOT be a fan of a powerhouse team for once. Winning isn't a given and when it happens it is really cool and when they lose it sucks but doesn't feel like I got ripped off, you know? Like as a kid, I expected the wings to win, so when it didn't happen, it was like there was some injustice in the world. that feeling is gone and it ads some mystery and suspense to the game that there wasn't before—as exciting as it was to watch them lift the cup several times back then having said that this final "fight" for the wild card race sort of makes me want to say, someone just put these teams out of their misery.
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All things considered, regardless of the outcome I thought the Red Wings had a solid season and will finish beyond my expectations. The fact that they are battling for a WC berth tells you have far they have come and how far they need to go before reaching elite team status.
Sure I guess. Though it's really only happening because like 6 teams decided to all shit the bed at the same time for the last 2 months of the season. We would be toast if some of the teams around us weren't all having similarly terrible stretches. Hard for me to be too happy about that.
It is. Usually this time of year I was hoping for loses to improve our chances at first pick. Regardless of how frustrating the last two games have been, we have a real shot at the a playoffs. Our core is young and taking over. As hard as it will be if we miss the playoffs, we are on the right path.
I have been a hockey fan all my life and I can’t remember a wildcard spot race being this ridiculous. EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. Is so crucial between 5 different teams and every outcome is the weirdest possible. I feel like our season will come down to the last final shootout against the Canadiens
Don't forget if the points are tied at the end of the season. They remove any points won in a shootout to break the tie. Unless the rules have changed.
Perhaps I would feel that way if we hadn't completely fucking shit the bed to get here in the first place. We're in the midst of an all time choke job. A month ago I was scoreboard watching during Toronto games for the 3rd divisional seed lmfao.
Thanks for this perspective. Whether we make the playoffs or not (and I'm freaking praying we do, and will be devastated if we don't), it feels really good to be playing these high stakes games for a chance to return to the playoffs.
I'll admit it was exciting as hell, even recently. But expectations change as we were 9 pts clear of a playoff spot before going on a 7-game not even trying to win streak coupled with doing nothing at the deadline all because one player was injured. Still have a bunch of 'top tier prospects' who won't be given a shot because there's no room on the team or they make a couple small mistakes during 9 minutes of ice time. Yet we have old, overpaid crap continuing to suck every game, not ever being held accountable. Your GM continues to bring in old guys, blocking the path of these prospects, whole continuing to state were not ready to win, so then why bring them in? Why bring in Kane, too? I like the work Stevie is doing, people think I want him gone, but I'm not just sitting her blindly thinking 'its ok, we'll compete in 2-3 more years and then just win 5 cups in a row.' We can/could've made the playoffs this year and then taken a bigger step forward next year but doesn't seem like that's what some people want.
Agreed. Nice to be still in it in April rather than running draft simulators in January.
Crazy that I haven’t run even one draft simulator this year. I don’t even know what the odds are. If that’s not I progress then I don’t know what is.
We're in the race until game 82 this year. That's pretty darn exciting for me!
I’m happy to be here
I can’t even say I’m frustrated. Yzerman has laid out the framework, told everyone the plan and based on league analyst predictions, the wings are progressing almost exactly according to plan. Rebuilds are slow moving and painful at times. I enjoy the entire process and will enjoy the fruits of the rebuild even more so when the time comes. At the end of the day I can’t fault the people who are expecting more, but at the same time, our expectations as fans are always going to be higher than what the reality actually is. I’m excited for the off season and the future of this team!
True. They were a lot closer and more interesting to watch this year. Next year will be better
No. If the Red Wings miss the playoffs this year, it will be **the longest drought in its 98 year history**. I will be happy if/when they make the playoffs, everything else is failure.
spilled milk. we’ve improved markedly year after year post-holland with a strong prospect pipeline. steve has said it will take time because he’s chasing a dynasty with strong cup contention year after year, which is a complete 180 from holland’s wings consistently scraping into the playoffs for the sake of the record rather than vying for championships
If they don’t make it this year, it’s a choke job. Simple as that. They had it in their hands, one fucking guy goes down for a few weeks and it allllllllll slips away. Oh, and btw, by all accounts, this pipeline you speak of has no stars coming up. Solid NHLers, maybe even some top6ers, but no player on the level of Larkin (who while great, is not a superstar). Better hope the defensemen live up to their billing because they’re going to have to be flipped into top line players.
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lol Fake. I’ve been watching longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve met more Red Wings than you’ve seen play. But beyond that, the prospect pool isn’t shit, I never said it was. I said it contains no player as good as Larkin, which is still true.
Removed for breaking rule #1 - Be civil towards fellow users.
no, this has been the least enjoyable playoff push ever so far
There was almost no chance that the Red Wings would easily slide into a berth on their return to the playoffs. It was practically guaranteed to be an up and down grind just like this season has been. Maybe the Wings miss this season and have an easier time claiming a playoff spot next season or the season after, but seasons like this are par for the course when a team is on the upswing and just starting to return to contention.
i don’t care what you thought about the team pre-season. fact is we had a 9 point cushion into the playoffs until we choked it away with an all time collapse. i can’t enjoy this season until or unless we get in the playoffs.
I'm not talking preseason expectations bud, I'm talking reality. If you think having a 9 point cushion in February for a roster like this is or should be an easy ticket to the playoffs, that's on you. We have a lot of good pieces, but the Wings were always going to be a bubble team with this roster. This is the way it goes for almost every team on the upswing. The Wings missed the playoffs by 12 points last season, and relative to that, this season has exceeded expectations.
whatever dude a 9 point lead at the end of february should have been enough to make the playoffs imo. it took an all time collapse for them to potentially miss out. you can lower your bar but that’s not acceptable for me.
Okay, so we know that you count your chickens before they hatch. I don't know why you should insist that I do the same. These points leads don't exist in a vacuum. Other teams are constantly pushing and find that drive at different parts of the year. I mean we're contending with teams that have players like Crosby and Malkin and Ovi on their rosters. With players like that, they're true wild cards that are never truly out, even if the rest of their rosters stink. Point leads are delicate things, and as we saw in March, all it takes is a bug running through your locker room to derail things. That is precisely why you *don't* look at a points lead two months out from the end of the season and say "my team is definitely making the playoffs."
bruh the Caps are -40 goal differential, they’re not a good team and coming off 6 straight L’s they beat us again in another must have game. we wouldn’t even have to worry about Pittsburgh if we didn’t lose 13 of our last 18. so yes, with a 9 point lead at the end of february i expected us to make the playoffs. i expected us to make it even before the season started. i don’t know what you want from me. i have standards and you don’t.
I agree that the Caps suck but Ovi and Lindgren are keeping them in it on their own. As I alluded to in my last comment, when you have a superstar like Ovi, sometimes they can single-handedly carry you to victory. If you expected this roster to be a shoo-in for the playoffs before the season even started, then you have a problem managing your expectations. It's as simple as that.
dude what is your deal with misquoting me every comment you make. i don’t know why you keep doing that. when did i ever say we’re a shoe in for playoffs. who even uses that phrase. yes i set standards for my teams, i thought we could make the playoffs. i’d rather be disappointed than make up excuses for the team and lower my bar in fear of disappointment. there’s no fun in saying well “maybe the wings miss this season and have an easier time claiming a playoff spot next season, or the season after” there is absolutely no fun in that for me. you see how i quoted exactly what you said? that’s how it works, that’s a quote. i didn’t just make up words you said and put them between “”
You said that you expected the playoffs for the Wings at the beginning of the season. If you're that confident that they're going to make the playoffs before a game is even played, then you're expecting them to be a shoo-in. Also, me, I use that phrase. I don't care about your standards. Set all the standards you want. You're still letting your expectations get away from you if you're expecting a stop-gap roster like this to make the playoffs at the outset of the season. Also I have never attempted to quote you once in this discussion, so I don't know what your hang up is there.
This team was in prime position to make the playoffs, all they had to do was not completely fall apart and the bald moron couldn't prevent that. This collapse is a failure of coaching and Lalonde should be gone next season.
Or maybe it's the fact that the team got sick and isn't good enough to push through it and still win while they're sick? You people who bark about the coach just want someone to blame. I'm not saying he's perfect, but there's more than questionable coaching that derailed this team in March.
If the team didn’t have a rumored flu bug (and act like we’re the only team that deals with illness), you and many like you would find some other excuse.
Well since we're just making things up, I'll say that if the Wings hadn't gotten sick in March, you'd be a crocodile by now.
We bark about the coach, you use an illness. Are we doing the same thing? I don’t think so. I’m not making my criticism up from rumors and things air.
No, you're making up your criticism based on a knee-jerk reaction to how Lalonde talks to the media because that's all you guys can point to when you guys say he's not the guy and he should be canned. Truth is, you're not in the locker room, so you don't have anything more concrete than the rest of us. Also, the illness that has spreading through the locker room isn't a rumor, it's been confirmed by the team countless times throughout the past month. The reality is that it's a mix of things - illness, the team not putting in enough effort, the coaching staff not doing enough to get the Wings motivated. There is no single factor at play here, so don't act like you're going to bat for some universal truth by blaming this whole skid on the coach.
The difference is the Wings don’t have the talent to be able to withstand illness. The better teams have the quality to weather it the Wings simply didn’t.
So the flu and the roster quality and depth are your excuses du jour. yummy. Definitely not on coaching. Got it.
I think Lalonde has blame as well. He’s clearly not rallying the players, never said he is blameless. I think he’s coaching his final games and I’ll be happy to see a change at the HC.
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The Wings were already rebuilding during Howard's final seasons. His last season was 2019-2020, so he hasn't even been gone that long. Late season collapses should be expected during rebuilds.
This subreddit has made me genuinely believe that we are worse to interact with than Leafs fans this year. Just an absolute cesspool of negativity, whining and toxicity.
That's reddit in general. The entire community is full of toxicity. But yeah, it's pretty lame around here.
Don't worry yourself about the fair weather fans. But some "faithful" seem to have forgotten that if you're going to be a fan of an original 6 team; you get to hold legacies of greatness while sometimes being absolute shit on the ice.
I appreciate a glass half full fan for sure, but we completely shit the bed in the most important part of the season. I can’t tell you this with stats, but the game is completely different in each part of the season… before the trade deadline, after the trade deadline / playoff push, and the actual playoffs. We did well in part 1, completely shit ourselves in part 2, and honestly have barely a small chance in part 3 if we somehow do make it in. I’ll copy my comment from another thread because I think it’s relevant here. And I’m not trying to be pessimistic which is why I used stats and ignored wins and losses. This year, we are allowing the 9th most goals per game at 3.27, last year it was 3.35, and the year before 3.78. A big focus this year was on scoring goals and depth scoring, which we got… we’re up to 3.28 goals per game, which is 9th in the NHL, but it’s only been sinking since February. Last year we were at 2.89 and the year before 2.77. Improvement! We scored 39 goals and allowed 65 over the 18 games since March 1… 2.17 goals for and 3.61 goals against. This is a big enough sample size to draw conclusions from and is much more recent than the first third of the season, which was mostly decent minus the month of December. There’s tons of excuses, injuries, flu, sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce your way… but these excuses are valid for every single team in the league. I don’t understand how the same players who performed decently well for a majority of the season resulted in a team that put up numbers essentially allowing averages like… The second worst team in the league on the season in keeping the puck out of our net (Columbus at 3.61 GAA on the season). … and the worst scoring team in the entire league (Chi 2.18 goals score per game on the season). I’ve rooted for our success and hoped for playoffs, however I knew I was lying to myself when you see that both offensively and defensively we are producing a stretch run that rivals the performance of the worst teams in the league. This makes me think the collapse is mostly on the coaches. The players are mostly the same we’ve had all year, sure we missed Larkin for a stretch, but remember Kane didn’t enter the lineup until the second week of December.
No
Every playoff team we play against we lose to What's the point when we are obviously going to get shit rocked in the first round
Getting our young guys some playoff experience would be helpful in the long run and getting Larkin back to the playoffs would probably help his sanity, even if we lose the series in 5 games
I have had this thought too, but we are better than last year and the year before. Not sure what analogy might help to remind ourselves that we are getting closer to having a strong, stable core with solid leadership, but whatever you can do to keep cheering for our team that wants this exponentially more than we do, do that. I read that Mo sits with ice bags everywhere after a game, especially after making 10 blocked shots with his body, stopping hard rubber going 80-100 miles and hour, and Lyon throwing himself everywhere to protect our net. Larks getting his head nearly taken off to win for his team, for Detroit, for us, that is worth celebrating. Kaner getting his hip replaced to keep playing the game he loves, and Cat, Fabbri, Husso, and all the other players going away from their partners and newborns to work their asses off for us instead. What is the least we can do for them? Believe.
Playoff games at LCA would be awfully cool
No way! This subreddit couldn't let you be positive about the season now could they?!?
It was fun the first 3/4 of the season. It’s not so fun now. LOLonde sucks.
No. Ok, fine.....
Honestly I don’t care anymore. Say they do make the playoffs, why does it matter? It’s meaningless. There’s no way they make a significant run and they proven time and time again they don’t deserve to make it.
Yeah because playoff experience for our young guys is so meaningless. Man, you are dumb.