3 Questions the Detroit Red Wings Face in the New Season

Let’s put this out there, the Detroit Red Wings are not the worst off team. They really aren’t even close, however, they aren’t also the best off. The Red Wings are in the middle of the pack and this season could move them from the middle. Either they have a good season and improve themselves for the future, or they take a step back and run the risk of missing the playoffs. There are some questions that the team must answer if they want to have a successful season and not fall to the back of the pack. Here are three of them;

Who starts in between the pipes?

This will probably be one of the more interesting story lines throughout the preseason; who is going to be the starting goaltender? Will it be the veteran Jimmy Howard, or the young gun Petr Mrazek? After a terribly played season laced with an injury Howard lost his starting job to the young rookie out of Grand Rapids. While Mrazek wasn’t always on point, his play was something that perked interest in Red Wings fans.

Now with the offseason coming to a close many wonder if Mrazek can repeat his play and maybe even make it better. It is thought he might start over Howard due in part to his play last season, him having played under new head coach Jeff Blashill, and if he has an outrageously good preseason. Which if he has a great preseason and just looks better than Howard, well then you have to give him the starting spot.

Yet, Howard is the veteran on the team… Also you are paying him a lot of money and as front office person I would be a tad upset if we were paying a veteran goaltender tons of money to sit on the bench. If anything, you have to give Howard the chance to show that he can return to his top play. Yet in the end you also have to do what is best for the team in the long run. That may not be Howard between the pipes.

Which young players do you bring up?

Another question that will work itself out in the weeks of camp and preseason games, which young players the Red Wings bring up at the start of the season will be very important. These young players will be what fills in the small on the team. It will be interesting to see if names like Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, or Teemu Pulkkinen will be brought up at the start of the season.

Mantha probably won’t him having some more time in Grand Rapids won’t hurt him. I think the situation is the same with Larkin, let him have some time down in Grand Rapids first and then bring him up. Now if the young kid comes into camp and lights it up, then maybe you look at him differently, but that will only be found out with time.

However, I think you will see Pulkkinen come up to the Red Wings this season. I think after the season he had last year and the fact that he is one of Blashill’s former Griffins that you will see the young kid up playing with the Red Wings at the start of the season.

Can this team keep the playoff streak alive?

With all the other stuff that this team has to deal with, this is some how the single most important thing to me as a fan. Can this Red Wings team keep the playoffs streak alive one more season? Make it to the mile stone of 25 years, be a part of NHL history. Honestly, it is up in the air, probably higher than it has been in recent seasons.

Will this team crumble under missing a veteran like Pavel Datsyuk for a chunk of time? Is this team too young yet to succeed? Can a new head lead this team to the playoffs? The hard part is that no one can say for sure what this team will do this season. I guess that is the fun part about sports, but it also the at times difficult part about them.

The Red Wings have more questions than just these three, there are some major and minor ones. The season will only answer them for us. As fans we can only hope for the best.