from Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press,

For a while now, we’ve decried the state of our city’s professional sports teams — deservedly so. Yet if you’re measuring our collective misery index through acid-tongue takedowns on social media, you’re missing out on a surprisingly lighthearted and, dare I say, hopeful atmosphere inside the Wings’ home this season.

Here is the worst team in hockey, maybe the worst the NHL has seen in a generation, and folks are dancing and cheering and howling at the drop of a glove.

Or the hint of a rush down the ice.

It’s not the glory days of the Joe, obviously, and there are plenty of seats to be had — as there were March 2, when the Avalanche came to town, and again when Chicago arrived four days later — but watching thousands of souls go to Little Caesar this winter is a reminder of why we love sports.

And a reminder of what these Wings mean to our region....

Inside the franchise it’s known as the Steve Yzerman bump. Faith in what he has done and what he will do has allowed for a kind of patience.

It helps thinking about the future as the losses pile up — 48 and counting. Just as it helps that the sheen of all that winning still clings to the winged wheel.

Enough to overlook the several-goal losses, the lack of scoring chances, the lack of defense, the bad contracts, the injuries. And while there might not be a concrete plan that’s easy to see on any given game night, there is hope of a plan.

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