Detroit Red Wings Roundtable: Will They Make it 25 Seasons?
A lot of talk since the Detroit Red Wings were knocked out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been about keeping the streak alive. This season would be 25 years.
So in this Red Wings Round Table I asked this simple question; will the Detroit Red Wings make the playoff this season and continue their streak to 25 years?
Mike Laybourne thinks the positive changes will help the team:
On my shelf sits a 2014 Winter Classic commemorative puck that my buddy Alex got for me. It serves as a reminder not only of an awesome Winter Classic game (marred slightly by us losing) but also as a reminder of a tense few months. January 2014 was not a fun time to be a Red Wings fan. We were firmly wedged in the middle of the table, jostling with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs for the last few playoff slots. That nerve-wracking battle continued over the next few months. After each game I’d check the table to see where we were, terrified that our team, with all our injured skaters, wouldn’t make the playoffs.
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It wasn’t until April 10th that we clinched a wildcard spot, and that kinda felt like the runner-up prize, but hey, we’d made the playoffs again. I have nothing against the wildcard system, but we should be in the top spots. 2015 was better. Sure we were knocked out in the first series by a defiant Tampa Bay in seven games, but at least we got there the proper way.
Can we do it again? Go for that 25th consecutive playoff? Yeah we can. Of course nothing is guaranteed in sport but we have all the right parts in all the right places. What’s changed since last season? The biggest change of course is Jeff Blashill replacing the outgoing Mike Babcock. Blashill couldn’t be better prepared for life with the Red Wings, given his previous experience with the franchise. We haven’t lost any major players either. In fact the team is now stronger with the additions of Mike Green and Brad Richards.
Supporting an Original Six team with 11 Stanley Cups to its name brings with it expectations of success, especially given our recent history of always making the playoffs. Tigers and Lions fans don’t expect the same success (damn I wish Stafford could throw) because we’re not used to seeing it. The Red Wings are different. They’re the good team in Detroit, the one that wins things sometimes. With the positive changes, it’s an exciting time to be a Wings fan, as I said earlier, nothing is guaranteed but after the dust settles, we look like we’re gonna be stronger than last season.
Next: John is very confident the Red Wings keep the Streak alive