from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Look, 2021 can’t possibly be as challenging as 2020. We will have to make do with a shortened season because the novel coronavirus delayed the start of the season until Jan. 13. The Wings are scheduled to play 56 games — eight each against the temporarily re-designed Central Division (the Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning).

The Wings project to miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season, but come autumn, the likes of recent draft picks Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Raymond could boost the rebuild. Remember: It took 14 years for Yzerman to lift the Stanley Cup, and that was with the amazing 1989 draft (when the Wings hauled in Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov). Next seasson may look bleak, but the future looks bright.

more (reviewing 2020)