COVID Response: Nothing much to speak of. GM Steve Yzerman was in isolation during the draft due to possible exposure, but nothing much beyond that. The Wings will not have fans in Little Caesar’s Arena.
Staying Away: No one.
Oh, He’s Here Now? Whoever is here, other than Dylan Larkin and maybe one or two others, won’t be here whenever it is the Red Wings matter again. Bobby Ryan washed up here after winning the Masterton Trophy while being a racist, which is truly the height of hockey and the NHL. Christian Djoos, after being a promising defenseman for the Capitals for like seven years until he wasn’t, is also here. Troy Stecher, and actual useful pieces for the Canucks the past few seasons, also signed here and could be a sneaky improvement. Marc Staal also signed up to continue his curdling.
Perhaps the biggest improvement will be in net where Thomas Greiss has come over from the Islanders, though it’s an awfully big change to go from playing behind a Barry Trotz fortress to the kindergarten recess that is the Wings roster.
Where’d He Go? Longtime guy Jimmy Howard finally left, but hasn’t landed anywhere yet. Trevor Daley retired, so he’s no longer in the running for dumbest player in the NHL, nor best or worst player to play while having chew in his mouth.
What To Expect: Badness. The Wings are looking at the seasons in the future, and some of their recent draft picks just starred in the recently concluded World Juniors. On the current roster, only Larkin, Filip Hronek, and maybe Filip Zdina are poised to be part of the next good Wings team. This year is about eating it, getting yet another high draft pick. It’s a mediocre division, so they might not take a run at a record at futility as they did last year, and they can trade inconsequential wins with the Hawks for eight games while jumping up and biting the Jackets or Predators or Panthers here and there. But it’s mostly going to be ugly, fitting in perfectly with the current status of the rest of Detroit’s sports scene.
#NHL #Central #Preview #division #geographical #sense
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