2015-16 record: 41-30-11 (93 points)
Lost to Tampa Bay in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Henrik Zetterberg
It took the final game of the regular season, but the Detroit made the playoffs for the 25th straight year last season. However, they were dispatched fairly quickly by Tampa Bay in the opening round. It took some luck to extend the playoff streak last season, but that luck may be gone if they want to make it 26 seasons in a row.
Offensively, if it weren't for Dylan Larkin pacing the team with 23 goals, the Wings would have missed the playoffs. Now, they have to replace Pavel Datsyuk, who intends to finish his career in Russia, and that won't be an easy task. Henrik Zetterberg is still there, but beyond that, the rest of the team will need to rebound from a collective drop in goals scored. Bringing in Frans Nielsen will at least replace some of the production Datsyuk took with him, but Thomas Vanek is a reclamation project and Steve Ott adds almost nothing at this point in his career, so it will be up to the likes of Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and the rest of the young players to pick up the pace. Defensively, they have never been able to replace Nicklas Lidstrom since he walked into the sunset in 2012, and the unit as a whole is largely a collection of players that are solid, but not great. They will have to be this way again for Detroit to be be competitive, especially since the leader from that group was Mike Green with 35 points, a respectable number, but more was to be expected. In goal, Petr Mrazek was inconsistent, losing the starting job for a few weeks to an even worse Jimmy Howard. A more consistent Mrazek would help, especially since despite the lack of consistency, he did post solid numbers in goal. Neither special teams unit was particularly special, as both finished in the middle of the pack, but the power play took it worse, as it was closer to the top the season before.
Prediction: 6th in the Atlantic Division
The Red Wings benefited from Dylan Larkin's presence last season, as he was enough to get the Wings to another playoff appearance. This time around, the rest of the team will have to rebound after a collective decline in numbers. There's not much to get excited about for the Wings, but if nothing else, they will have motivation to close out the time at Joe Louis Arena with another playoff appearance.
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