Hockey News sees us finishing 7th

[unsaddleddonald 357]

No surprise here I think. Brutally honest commentary although I disagree with the forward corps comment; it is that last sentence that breaks my heart </3

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/48196-The-Hockey-News-201213-NHL-regular-season-predictions-No-7.html

"Why: Welcome to the Twilight Zone. Detroit, on the playoff bubble? It feels odd to even type those words, but the Red Wings’ off-season was disastrous. They lost their best defenseman ever, Nicklas Lidstrom, to retirement, and traded Brad Stuart. The assumption was they’d land a big free agent fish or two to replace them, but GM Ken Holland swung and missed. Even if rookie Brendan Smith shines, the Wings can’t possibly replace what they’ve lost on the back end. That said, Detroit still boasts one of the league’s deepest forward corps, led by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, and newcomer Jordin Tootoo gives them sorely needed sandpaper. The Wings remain a playoff team, but aren’t a serious Cup threat anymore."

[redwingmachine 189]

Well it's a damn good thing the game is played on the ice and not decided by sport writers. The Red Wings have a new look, players will step up, everything's going to be just fine. I personally think it will be better than fine and we will surprise a lot of sport writers and fans this year. I can't wait until puck drop to see what we really have.

Sincerely,

Optimism

[RedFlag85 33]

I agree, assuming our roster stays the same.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

I think we will see Z and Dats really step it up (85+points each) with the absence of Lids and guys like Fil, Kronner, Cleary will also have bigger effects than in the past. Maybe Franzen steps up? who knows...

[Guest irishock]

Wings aren't a serious cup contender?

There are no serious contenders in the league anymore. You make the playoffs, you have a 1/16 chance of winning the cup. These playoffs proved that when the Coyotes of all teams advanced to the WCF with Detroit, Vancouver and Chicago losing in first round.

[mmamolo 287]

Wings aren't a serious cup contender?

There are no serious contenders in the league anymore. You make the playoffs, you have a 1/16 chance of winning the cup. These playoffs proved that when the Coyotes of all teams advanced to the WCF with Detroit, Vancouver and Chicago losing in first round.

Although it's true once the playoffs start I think there are still legit cup contenders. With how well NYR did last year and now adding Nash and having a healthy Marc Staal they have to be considered legit cup contenders/favorites. I'm not even the biggest Nash fan in the world but when you combine Lundqvist, their stacked D and a forward corps that should be able to score pretty well I'd say they're legit contenders.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Wings aren't a serious cup contender?

There are no serious contenders in the league anymore. You make the playoffs, you have a 1/16 chance of winning the cup. These playoffs proved that when the Coyotes of all teams advanced to the WCF with Detroit, Vancouver and Chicago losing in first round.

The nail has been hit on the head.

[robb himself 143]

Well it's a damn good thing the game is played on the ice and not decided by sport writers. The Red Wings have a new look, players will step up, everything's going to be just fine. I personally think it will be better than fine and we will surprise a lot of sport writers and fans this year. I can't wait until puck drop to see what we really have.

Sincerely,

Optimism

Agree 100%

I think the Wings are going to surprise a lot of people this year.

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

Although it's true once the playoffs start I think there are still legit cup contenders. With how well NYR did last year and now adding Nash and having a healthy Marc Staal they have to be considered legit cup contenders/favorites. I'm not even the biggest Nash fan in the world but when you combine Lundqvist, their stacked D and a forward corps that should be able to score pretty well I'd say they're legit contenders.

Would you of called L.A. a serious cup contender before last season?

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Would you of called L.A. a serious cup contender before last season?

I would've called them to contend for the conference finals.

It wasn't until the season started and they couldn't manage to score that them being a contender looked less and less likely. But on paper at the beginning of the season, absolutely.

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

I would've called them to contend for the conference finals.

It wasn't until the season started and they couldn't manage to score that them being a contender looked less and less likely. But on paper at the beginning of the season, absolutely.

on paper?? which "star" and their star numbers on the team had you convinced that they would win a cup?

And another team to talk about look at the Florida Panthers....They were ranked dead last in the pre-season rankings and what spot did they end up with at the end of the season in the 1st round of the playoffs? I just don't see that we are that bad that we are going to just barely make the playoffs even. And I never pay attention to what writers or who ever have to say. How many years now have they been writing us as too old to make the playoffs and how many times have we proven that wrong?

Edited August 17, 2012 by hillbillywingsfan

[chances14 227]

just for the record, the last time the hockey news predicted us finishing low in the conference was the 06-07 season where they said we would finish 6th and could very easily miss the playoffs. that year the wings finished tied for 1st in the league and went on to the conference finals

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

on paper?? which "star" and their star numbers on the team had you convinced that they would win a cup?

And another team to talk about look at the Florida Panthers....They were ranked dead last in the pre-season rankings and what spot did they end up with at the end of the season in the 1st round of the playoffs? I just don't see that we are that bad that we are going to just barely make the playoffs even. And I never pay attention to what writers or who ever have to say. How many years now have they been writing us as too old to make the playoffs and how many times have we proven that wrong?

I said contender, not win the Cup.

The Kings were a great defensive team the season before last but had problems scoring consistently (sound familiar?) the addition of Richards was a huge step in giving them another offensive threat so they wouldn't just key on Kopitar and Brown. So you add scoring to a team that's got a great defensive system, good young goaltending, and maturing star players (doughty and Kopitar).

It's not like I was alone in that prediction. Again, not really as a Cup winner because they're such a young team, but I expected them to take a big step forward in the playoffs.

The Hockey News had them picked 4th in the west, above the Wings. Several "experts" on ESPN had them picked to win their division.

My main point is that people keep using the Kings as if they came out of nowhere at the end of the season, which isn't true. They were a very good team that underachieved all season and got their act together just in time. Before the season started they were expected to be a good team and contend for their division. It's just when they struggled to score and were on the verge of missing the playoffs that their change in play was so surprising.

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

I said contender, not win the Cup.

The Kings were a great defensive team the season before last but had problems scoring consistently (sound familiar?) the addition of Richards was a huge step in giving them another offensive threat so they wouldn't just key on Kopitar and Brown. So you add scoring to a team that's got a great defensive system, good young goaltending, and maturing star players (doughty and Kopitar).

It's not like I was alone in that prediction. Again, not really as a Cup winner because they're such a young team, but I expected them to take a big step forward in the playoffs.

My main point is that people keep using the Kings as if they came out of nowhere at the end of the season, which isn't true. They were a very good team that underachieved all season and got their act together just in time. Before the season started they were expected to be a good team and contend for their division. It's just when they struggled to score and were on the verge of missing the playoffs that their change in play was so surprising.

ok what about the panthers? They were ranked dead last and some how magically became 3rd seed. Who would of called that? Thats why you don't know until the playing starts and that's why these predictions are bogus. Edited August 17, 2012 by hillbillywingsfan

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

ok what about the panthers? They were ranked dead last and some how magically became 3rd seed. Who would of called that? Thats why you don't know until the playing starts and that's why these predictions are bogus.

I'm not disagreeing with that at all. It's always such a surprise the teams that are great on paper that don't live up to expectations, and the teams that seem to come out of nowhere.

Even the first half the season, some fans start planning parade routes because their team has played great for 30 games. Then they come back down to earth and don't even make the playoffs.

Like I said people just keep using the Kings as some team no one ever would've predicted to do well. Many people did, they just didn't live up to expectations.

[martinezsvsu 240]

im not surprised the kings won the cup. they had the players, they just needed to put it together and get the puck in the net

[GoWings1905 2,694]

7th seems pretty fair to me. I would say right now the Kings, Canucks, Blues are the three divisional favorites. After that, I think you could lump the Red Wings in the second tier with the Coyotes, Sharks, Blackhawks, Predators and maybe the Wild too. There is usually always a surprise team too that is stronger than expected -- I actually think the Ducks will be quite a bit improved and contend for the playoffs.

The West will be very competitive as usual, except for the first time in forever, I don't see the Red Wings as a playoff lock.

[beachwing 426]

im not surprised the kings won the cup. they had the players, they just needed to put it together and get the puck in the net

i agree.....and i add the same can be said of the Wings last season.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

the year after this one will hopefully be a transition year, one in which we start being called "up and coming" and "youthful." This is likely when we see almost all of Jarnkrok, Pulks, Tatar, Nyquist, Smith all up full time on the team with Sheahan knocking on the door too. Just wait, the news reporters that know jack about the wings will all be changing their predictions soon after this season after they see all the fresh meat we have been marinating for years...

[ToledoWingsFan 8]

Wings aren't a serious cup contender?

There are no serious contenders in the league anymore. You make the playoffs, you have a 1/16 chance of winning the cup. These playoffs proved that when the Coyotes of all teams advanced to the WCF with Detroit, Vancouver and Chicago losing in first round.

Don't forget Pittsburgh. The team a lot of writers picked to win the cup.

[Seraph 240]

LA was up and coming for a couple years before they won. It just didn't feel like it because they struggled so badly with offense for a while. But in a way that really forced Quick to sharpen his game because he had to defend 1-0 or 2-0 leads in order to win. You'll see this year that they aren't the "8th seed" team that everyone talks about. They just happened to fall into that spot because of struggles early in the season.

And unfortunately I don't share the optimism that we'll somehow miraculously be an equally competitive team this year given that we've lost so much out of the talent pool. However, I will say this will make for an interesting year and I'm looking forward to see our young guys finally get a shot. Maybe we have some other Datsyuks and Zetterbergs in the system that need to sneak into the bottom six like those guys were doing in 2002.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Why aren't the Wings considered serious contenders?

Look at the current defensive corps. Kronwall, White, Quincey, Ericsson, Smith and Kindl.

Anything can happen but making predictions based on the current roster I can understand why the Wings are a big question mark.

Hopefully players will step up, but even more importantly hopefully no one gets injured. Can you imagine if Kronwall went down with an injury?

[joshy207 156]

I think THN's prediction is about right, based on the current roster. The Wings are too good to miss the playoffs, but not good enough to finish on top of the league. If (IF) they miss the playoffs, I think it'll come right down to the wire, they won't miss by more than a couple points and a couple positions. This is the beginning of their transition period from the team they were in '07-'09 (Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg's team) to the team they'll be in the future.

A lot of you are talking about "the kids finally getting a chance", but I don't think that's truly the case just yet. Emmerton and Mursak got their shot last year, with underwhelming results, and neither is a lock to make the team again this season. Smith (who I feel, and I said, should have been up all of last season) finally gets his shot, and hopefully Nyquist and Brunner stick also, although if all things are equal, they can be sent down while others can't. Tatar could be a call-up, as could a couple other guys playing in GR. But the core of the prospects are still 2 years away, both because they aren't quite ready yet, and there's no room for them. As of today, there are 9 forwards under contract for '13-'14, plus key free agents Filppula, Miller, Nyquist, and Brunner. The Wings want to lock up Filppula, I imagine they'll re-sign Nyquist, if Brunner works out then he'll probably be back, but Miller may be forced out. So barring any trades, they'll go into camp in '13 with 12 forwards. This is specifically why I hate the contracts of Bertuzzi and Samuelsson. Both have NTCs and, in my opinion, both stand in the way of progress. I'd much rather see 2 of Jarnkrok/Tatar/Sheahan/Pulkkinen/etc. than Samuelsson at 37 and Bertuzzi at 39. Defense is another story, beyond Smith, no prospects are even close to being ready, and they only have Kronwall, Quincey, and Ericsson signed beyond this season. They'll have to find help through trades or free agency (and my #1 target for a 1- or 2-year stopgap, Scott Hannan, just signed with Nashville for 1 year at $1M.) Mrazek looks promising in goal, which is good, because McCollum does not. Hopefully Gustavsson pans out.

And regarding Florida, yes, they had the 3rd seed, but actually had the 6th-best record in the East. They won an again-crappy Southeast Division. Washington and Carolina were not nearly as good as expected, and Tampa Bay fell off dramatically after making the ECF a year ago. Winnipeg felt the effects of assuming Atlanta's schedule with no adjustments for the move. Florida had a ton of turnover from the beginning of '10-'11 to the end of '11-'12, and it worked out much better than anyone expected. Rarely do teams rebuilt that drastically find success that quickly.

[Guest The Axe]

Why aren't the Wings considered serious contenders?

Look at the current defensive corps. Kronwall, White, Quincey, Ericsson, Smith and Kindl.

Anything can happen but making predictions based on the current roster I can understand why the Wings are a big question mark.

Hopefully players will step up, but even more importantly hopefully no one gets injured. Can you imagine if Kronwall went down with an injury?

Shooooooot, we cant even have Ericsson go down at this point.

[Hey man nice shot! 144]

Nice to be a underdog again...time to turn some heads:)