Jared Clinton of The Hockey News points out the bad, the very bad but I an concentrating on the good...

...in the interest of looking on the bright side and attempting not to pile on during what has already been an incredibly difficult season for the Red Wings faithful, we feel the need to point out that there have been a few positives. Here are five silver linings:

1. TOP LOTTERY ODDS
Not since 1986 have the Red Wings had the first-overall pick in the draft and the last time Detroit picked in the top three was at the 1990 draft. That could change this season. While the draft lottery doesn’t promise the league’s last-place team anything, the Red Wings would have a nearly 50-percent chance at finishing with a top-three selection and an 18.5-percent chance of landing the first-overall pick if they finished dead-last. But there’s good news here just about any way you slice it. If the Red Wings fail to secure the first-overall pick, they’re doing so ahead of a draft that is considered one of the deepest in recent memory with a uber-skilled projected one-two of Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield.

2. OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY
The lack of pressure, and lack of expectation, has opened up plenty of opportunity for younger players to come into the lineup and prove their worth. No player has done more with the chances they’ve been afforded than Filip Hronek. Drafted 53rd overall in 2016, he wasn’t considered one of Detroit’s blue-chippers, but there looks to be plenty of potential and upside in the 22-year-old rearguard. He’s been productive offensively – his 13 points put him fifth in team scoring – and he’s averaging 23 minutes per game, more than any other blueliner.

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