The Detroit Red Wings have been close to the playoffs the past two seasons. Yet, in both seasons, the same issues have tripped up a postseason bid. For the fans who believe the Red Wings’ rebuild is moving along at a snail’s pace, the team does have a lot of prospects in terms of volume; however, it lacks the Tier 1 prospects that would speed up the rebuild process. Missing out of all No. 1 overall draft picks since Steve Yzerman has taken over as GM has hampered the process. There is still good in the pipeline. So how can Detroit end its playoff drought? A deep dive suggests there is no easy path.
If the Red Wings get better goal tending, they could move closer to a playoff birth. It is no secret that the Red Wings have struggled in net, and Yzerman has yet to find his guy. The Red Wings boast two of the more promising goalie prospects in Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine. Both will be future net minders. The team traded for veteran John Gibson and hopes is play from last season carries over.
If the blue line improves, it would help immensely. The Red Wings’ defensive prospects are not fully developed and will need more time. Lead by Alex Sandin-Pellikka, the future has hope. Last season Simon Edvinsson played his first full NHL (78-games) and looks the part of a solid defender. For the goal tending to improve, the players around the goalie must improve.
If there is no March scoring drought, that will give more of a post season fighting chance. The Detroit offense has disappeared in March the past two seasons when the team was in the thick of the playoff hunt. That simply can not happen again. Fans hear the word consistency thrown around many times, it is a lack of offensive consistency that has held the Red Wings back for the past two seasons.
IF the Red Wings can find an LW for the top line to go with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, that would be huge. Steve Yzerman had Segei Fedorov, and that combo lead Detroit to 3X Stanley Cup Championships. Raymond is one of the NHL’s top young players and looks like he will be even better. The organization needs to find Larking his Fedorov for the needle to start moving.
IF young players such as Marco Kasper, Edvisson, and others continue to develop and improve, the team would gain more wins. The talent is there now, the young players must take another step forward in order to make a playoff push.
There are more “IFs” but the highlighted ones would go a long way in aiding Detroit’s quest for the playoffs.
