...If

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Internal improvement

Much of the talk when the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers last spring, then through the summer, was about internal improvement.

If the Red Wings are going to surprise people and make a charge up the standings, it’s going to have to start with individuals simply getting better.

During the preseason, there were signs of that potentially happening.

Foremost was the play of forward Andreas Athanasiou.

Craving more ice time for the past couple seasons, Athanasiou was given ample playing time during exhibition games — and will likely receive similar playing time given the retirement of Henrik Zetterberg — and responded with some dazzling games.

Anthony Mantha talked about getting to 30 goals. Dylan Larkin took a major step in 2017-18, and could take another this season. Tyler Bertuzzi has room to grow as a player.

Those are the young players who the Wings are building around.

more