Detroit Red Wings: Which path should the team follow this off-season?
By Ben Heydt
Over and over again, the Detroit Red Wings have entered the draft lottery, and over and over again, they have left with no good fortune to show for it. Surely, nabbing a number 1 or 2 overall pick in any given year would help to accelerate the rebuilding process, thus pushing the Yzerplan forward. They avoided the heartbreak of falling but missed out on moving up.
However, the hockey gods have not seemed to smile upon the city of Detroit to make that happen. Instead, slow and steady has been the pace at which the Detroit Red Wings organization has been working to build a cup contender.
With the second-longest active playoff drought in the league (only behind Buffalo), the Red Wings have felt pressure from the fanbase to make a postseason run in 2024. It truly does seem that most winged wheel die-hards believe it is playoffs or bust. But does the Red Wings front office group share that opinion?
After missing out on the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, only two obvious paths seem to be left. The Red Wings will have to weigh out which direction they will take, which is something management has to focus on in the coming weeks.
For the Red Wings, it seems like these two paths are what Steve Yzerman and his front office contingent will spend time deliberating about. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Red Wings as the 2023 draft season comes into focus.