2012-13 record: 24-16-8 (56 points)
Lost to Chicago in Conference semi-finals
Captain: Henrik Zetterberg
The Detroit Red Wings played much of last season as most people expected: in disarray in their first year of the post-Nicklas Lidstrom era. However, they snuck into the playoffs and were a completely different team, as they took down Anaheim in seven before falling to eventual champions Chicago in seven. This year, the Red Wings will move to the travel friendly Eastern Conference and will be bringing in a couple of players to help with house warming. Daniel Alfredsson will add to a veteran front line, as will Stephen Weiss, who will undoubtedly be motivated to make a deep run in the playoffs. They join Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, two of the league's better players, as well as Johan Franzen and Justin Abdelkader. There is still no clear cut successor to Lidstrom on the blue line, but the unit as a whole, led by Niklas Kronwall, got better as the season went on, and it will have to improve once again if the Wings are to make a run at the Stanley Cup this season. Jimmy Howard is becoming the superstar goalie that Detroit hasn't had since the days of Mike Vernon in the mid-90's, and with a spot on the U.S. Olympic roster on the line, Howard is looking to be even better this season.
Prospects: Detroit likes to take their time with their prospects, which leads to times like last season, when players such as Dan DeKeyser and Gustav Nyquist became regulars for the first time last season and will be counted on for bigger roles this season. This year's version is likely just one player: Tomas Tatar, who was playoff MVP of the AHL playoffs.
Prediction: 2nd in the Atlantic
The Red Wings survived the first year without Lidstrom, and now, they are heading to the Eastern Conference, which should be a relief for the often travel weary team. Fortifying their forward depth with Weiss and Alfredsson should help in scoring, but it will be up to the defense to continue their maturation from last year's playoff run.
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