from Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press,
Everyone knows this is a rebuild. Sure. But this is looking bad even for that. Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi have been the only bright spots among the young players who are supposed to be developing.
That’s on coach Jeff Blashill. In fact, it’s all on him. Yes, there have been injuries. Yes, the Wings put up good efforts in Southern California. Yes, they outplayed a sleepwalking Tampa Bay Lightning team — and still managed to lose.
But at some point, and maybe sooner rather than later, moral victories stop counting. The Wings need actual victories.
Their body language was bad while getting their Chiclets kicked in by the Habs and Bruins. The effort was much better in Tampa. But if you watched the dressing room interviews Thursday night, you could see the vacant, desperate look in players’ eyes, searching for something that wasn’t there. Possibly hope.
The popular notion is Blashill is safe in the final year of his contract. But his seat is suddenly warm and it could grow a lot hotter fast. If the Wings lose to the Panthers, they’re virtually guaranteed to go winless in their first 10 games, which would tie their franchise record (0-7-3) of 1975-76.
That would be a bad look.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.