Max Bultman of The Athletic takes a long look at the Wings...

Final assessment

It’s strange — in many ways, few of the franchise’s core characteristics have changed much from a year ago, when Detroit was fresh off a widely praised draft, was picked to finish near the bottom of the league and still needed some breaks in order to right its ship long-term. You could argue just about all of the above are still true, and if there’s any part that’s not, it would be that the 2019 draft wasn’t as popular as last year’s edition.

The team Detroit fields this season does not look like it’s in for a much smoother ride than a year ago. And yet, due in part to the progress of Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha and Bertuzzi, and due likely in part to the return of Yzerman, there is a glimmer of hope in Detroit nonetheless.

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