Regaining Their Wings

DETROIT RED WINGS

2013-14 record: 39-28-15 (93 points)
Lost to Boston in the Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Henrik Zetterberg

Yes, the Detroit Red Wings made the playoffs, thus extending their streak of playoff appearances to 23, and yes, they did it despite losing 421 man games due to injury.  However, their less than sterling showing against Boston in the opening round raises quite a few questions.  Nothing in the way of significant additions were made, and it wasn't necessarily because of lack of effort.  In fact, they did attempt to go after a top-four defenseman, but their only move there was re-signing Kyle Quincey.  It's fair to ask whether Detroit is still a choice destination for free agents to be, particularly when both Ken Holland and Mike Babcock are in last year of their respective deals and the fate of either man is unknown past this season.  Staying healthy would be a great thing for the forwards, particularly Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsuyk, both of whom lost half a season each because of injuries.  While Datsyuk showed that he was over his injury come playoff time, Zetterberg will be figured out this season, as he managed to play just two of the team's five games.  Having both healthy and at the level they were playing at before the injuries would add to an offense that saw Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar emerge as future stars.  If Anthony Mantha cracks the lineup and plays like the goal-a-game player he was last season with Val D'Or of the QMJHL, the Red Wings will be formidable up front.

The blue line has a bunch of solid, if unspectacular players, but many of them are still second pairing players, at best, with only Niklas Kronwall being a proven top pairing player.  There isn't a second coming of Nicklas Lidstrom on the horizon, which was why the Red Wings were looking to upgrade this unit, to no avail.  Jimmy Howard missed a few games to injury, but he was also never great in net, which for a team like Detroit, is not enough.  He will have to play better than the 2.66 GAA he posted last season.

Prediction: 6th in the Atlantic Division

The Red Wings should be better just for the fact that they will be healthy.  However, there are many questions, mainly on the defensive and front office sides of the team.  Will the Wings play better than the sum of the defensive parts?  Will Howard bounce back from a bad season?  Will the contracts of the primary men in the front office and behind the bench be a distraction?