Madelyn Furstenau ‘26, Editor-in-Chief
It is safe to say that Detroit sports fans have been severely disappointed the last few years. The Tigers came up short in the playoffs two years in a row, the Lions fumbled playoff contention this year following a brutal playoff loss last year, and the Pistons are finally recovering from being the worst team in the NBA. However, the Red Wings are showing promising signs of some competitive action this year, and it should not go unnoticed.
The team is led by huge talents such as on-ice leader, captain, and center Dylan Larkin, right wing Alex DeBrincat, forward Lucas Raymond, and defenseman Moritz Seider, the team is currently ranked first in the Atlantic Division as of Jan. 6. They sit at a 25-15 record with just over three months remaining in the regular season, and talk of a Stanley Cup has undeniably made its rounds. On Jan. 5, the Red Wings reached a milestone they have not seen in over a decade: 25 wins in their first 44 games, which is their fastest win rate in 15 years. This shows great promise for the team’s future, especially if they continue on this hot streak of success.
While these great achievements have been highly satisfactory for championship title-starved Detroit fans, it has also vastly improved public perception of the club’s General Manager, Steve Yzerman. He was certainly a legend on the ice, having played all 22 of his career seasons with the Red Wings, winning three Stanley Cups, and serving over two decades as the team’s captain, establishing himself as one of the best hockey players of all time. However, Yzerman has struggled to be a fan favorite from a coaching standpoint, as this could be the seventh straight season the Red Wings do not make it to the playoffs under Yzerman. If this lack of success continues, Yzerman is skating on seriously thin ice (all jokes aside) and runs the risk of losing the position altogether.
There is no single standout player on this team. There have been several contributors to this team’s prosperity, and after a 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators, head coach Todd McClellan shared insight on some of those individuals, highlighting the team’s second line of DeBrincat, Andrew Copp, and Patrick Kane: “That line in particular, there’s a reason why we haven’t broken that up…They have, from Dec. 1, been easily our best scoring and defensive line on 5-5. It makes no sense to tap them.” Making his Red Wings debut in October was forward James van Riemsdyk, who always seems to come out on top in the power play. He has garnered 13 points in his last 18 appearances and significantly contributes to this team in limited minutes with goals and assists. Van Riemsdyk has spoken out about his transition into this team, saying, “Anytime you’re with a new team, as much as you’d like it to be seamless, sometimes it is kind of a process to find how you fit within the group and find some chemistry with some guys. I’d like to think I just continue to get better as the year goes on and have that same approach every day.”
Although you could argue that it is still early into the season, fans feel pretty confident that they will be seeing their Red Wings in the playoffs this year, and hopefully not just one round. With so much newfound success, strong players and performances, and flourishing team chemistry, only time will tell if the confidence radiating from Hockeytown will be long-lasting.
Lyon Life 