from Ryan Ford of the Detroit Free Press,
When the Detroit Red Wings take the ice on Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’ll be making history, of sorts: The franchise will wear black — or at least black stripes — for the first time in 95 seasons.
That’s part of Adidas’ “Reverse Retro” uniform program for the 2022-23 season. It’s the second iteration from the NHL’s official supplier, after a round of alternates during the 2020-21 season.
The Wings’ outfits that season were a little, uh, underwhelming — almost all-white jerseys with silver stripes supposedly paying tribute to the uniforms the franchise wore in 2017 for the NHL’s centennial celebration. This season’s outfit is anything but that, with a heavy red colorway broken up by black stripes and a thin block-lettered “Detroit” across the chest.
See the sweater below.
from Kristen Shilton of ESPN,
We broke down what has gone right and what has gone wrong for each team, and also compared their current pace in standings points against what the bookmarkers forecast for them in the preseason, before serving up a letter grade.
Who's at the head of the class? Who's in danger of failing? Read on for our appraisals.
Preseason over/under: 83.5Current points pace: 107
What's gone right: The Red Wings' aggressive offseason moves have (mostly) paid off. And Detroit has benefited from returning players on a mission to see this team back to its playoff days. Captain Dylan Larkin -- fueled perhaps by this contract year -- has been leading the Red Wings' top-line attack while free agent pickup Dominik Kubalik has been a stud second-line winger. Ville Husso is the real game-changer in Detroit, though, giving the Wings a true No. 1 goalie to protect the house. The Red Wings aren't always flashy or scoring in bunches, but Husso's steadiness so far hasn't required it.
What's gone wrong: Detroit's team defense has been better than a season ago. Top blueliner Moritz Seider's season hasn't followed suit. The reigning Calder Trophy winner hasn't generated nearly the shots on goal or offensive output he did as a rookie. Detroit could use that production again while the team is averaging fewer than three goals per game and the fourth-fewest shots on goal. And not just from Seider. Andrew Copp -- another free agent signee -- had just one goal through 16 games. The Red Wings have to expect more out of him to establish dangerous depth scoring.
Grade: B+
Detroit has been one of the Atlantic Division's top teams because of a few individuals. The Red Wings could stay a top team with more contributions across the board. Being too reliant on Husso or the top six to always step up won't be a lasting strategy. Detroit has to hope it's just scratching the surface on what's to come.
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