Fansided

Projecting every NHL team’s chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2019

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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30. Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are team that has fallen from grace drastically in recent years, and it’s obvious to everybody except Red Wings management that their time is over.

Last season the Red Wings finished in 27th in the league with 73 points, and I wouldn’t expect a season much different than that next year.

Why they could win

The Red Wings, if nothing else, are a team full of experience. If their aging players like Zetterberg and Kronwall can turn back the clock and aid the skilled younger players, they could possibly be a danger.

Speaking of those young forwards, Dylan Larkin has the potential for a massive breakout season, along with Andreas Athanasiou. Evgeny Svechnikov also looks on track to make the team out of training camp, and this years first round draft pick Filip Zadina certainly could be a contributor if he makes the team.

If everything goes absolutely perfectly for the Red Wings this season, meaning nobody at all underperforms or gets injured, then they might have the chance to steal a playoff spot. Once you’re in the playoffs, you really never know what can happen.

Why they won’t win

Back to the reality of the situation, the Red Wings are a team built of burnt-out former stars, overpaid role players and underdeveloped young player forced to drag along all of the dead weight.

Almost all the players on this team would be nowhere above a second line on almost every other team in the league. As good as Dylan Larkin is, he’s not nearly good enough to carry all of this weight on his shoulders without a decent supporting cast, which he does not at all have. The defense is the same story, except with no decent youth on it. Mike Green is perhaps the only one who can even be considered a top four defenseman, and he’s not even close to good enough or young enough to pick up the slack.

Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland hasn’t made his job any easier with the amount of albatross contracts he’s buried the team under. Frans Nielsen, at 34 years old, will be making $5.25 million for the next four seasons; 31 year old Justin Abdelkader will make $4.25 million for five more years and 31 year old fourth line winger Darren Helm $3.85 million for three more years. The best part is, every single one of those contracts has a no trade clause. That’s just a few of the albatrosses on the offense.

Conclusion

The Red Wings are bad, and they’re going to stay that way for a long time. Yes, they do have a decent prospect system, but the amount of near unmovable contracts that will continue to weigh the team down have the destined for mediocrity for years to come. Ken Holland also thinks that this team is good enough for the playoffs somehow and that they don’t need a full-on rebuild. Unless they somehow luck out in the draft lottery and steal a true elite player, this isn’t getting any better anytime soon.

In all honesty, a bad season is good long term for the Red Wings. They need to accumulate as much young talent as possible through the draft, and it might be enough to convince Holland to rebuild this team.

The Red Wings probably finish a bottom five in the league like last year, and don’t come close to the playoffs again. The 25-year playoff streak is a distant memory.

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