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How Far Away Are the Red Wings From Becoming Stanley Cup Competitors?

By Evan Mead

DETROIT, MI - MAY 31: The logo of the Detroit Red Wings is lit up on the ice prior to the start of game seven of the Western Conference finals during the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on May 31, 2002. The Red Wings won the game 7-0 to win the series. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images/NHLI)
DETROIT, MI - MAY 31: The logo of the Detroit Red Wings is lit up on the ice prior to the start of game seven of the Western Conference finals during the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on May 31, 2002. The Red Wings won the game 7-0 to win the series. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images/NHLI) /
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Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings celebrating a Stanley Cup win. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

How Close Are the Red Wings From Making the Playoffs Again?

The Red Wings are not going to make the playoffs this season which will mark their sixth straight season of missing the playoffs. However, they can’t be that far off from competiting can they?

It’s no secret that the Red Wings are in a very tough division and that them finding any success will be difficult. Between the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins, it will be rather difficult for them to win the division. Additionally, they have another team right on their heels: the Ottawa Senators.

Now, I’m sure me saying that has you confused. So let me enlighten you really quick.

Every team that struggles goes through the draft as a form of a rebuild. As the Red Wings have been doing for the last couple years, so have the Senators. Quite frankly, I feel the Senators may even have a jump on the Red Wings. However, it’s not that much if any. They are very close.

So, getting back on track- How close are they to competing again?

Well, the Red Wings currently have a prospect pool that ranks inside the top 10 amongst teams in the NHL. Between Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Sebastian Cossa, Simon Edvinsson, and Joe Veleno- the talent they have budding and growing is remarkable. However, they still need to grow as players before they can comepte. That’s where this next group of names comes into play.

As players look to take their talents to the NHL, they need to learn and grow. That’s where the term ‘veteran leadership’ comes from. Lucky for us, the Red Wings have some very, very, very talented players.

Between Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Sam Gagner, Danny DeKeyser, and Thomas Greiss come into play.

They all have played in this league for a period of time and they are going to be great leaders to the young guys who start are starting their jounrey in the NHL. That there, is what’s going to be the deciding factor between the Red Wings competing for next season or them competiting five to ten years from now.

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If the Red Wings can approach free agency aggressivley and make things happen, as well as have players like Vrana, Raymond, and Zadina continue to grow, they could look to compete as early as next season in my eyes.

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