from Matt Larkin of The Daily Faceoff,
When the Wings wheezed to the end of their 25-year streak in 2016-17, I argued at the time that no team was further away from the Stanley Cup. The only thing worse than being a terrible NHL club is to be a mediocre one that won’t admit it’s mediocre, because it dooms you to keeping the team on life support and finishing in the mushy middle. Even once the Wings started missing the playoffs, they had enough veterans on immovable contracts to stick around and keep them from being too bad. They didn’t even secure a top-five draft slot until 2020, when they snagged Lucas Raymond. It marked Detroit’s first top-five pick in 30 years.
The Wings of the past decade serve as a cautionary tale. They couldn’t let go of the idea that they were contenders and, by choosing quick solutions, they hurt themselves in the long run. They’re about to miss the playoffs a seventh consecutive year, and they’re hardly a lock to avoid an eighth straight miss next season. They traded one streak for another.
So what am I getting at, picking on the Wings?
I want to highlight the team I believe to be the furthest in the NHL from a Stanley Cup today. Have a look at the active playoff streak leaderboard. The Pittsburgh Penguins are hanging by a thread, clinging to the hope of crawling into the postseason as an Eastern Conference Wildcard seed and extending their streak to 17 years. They kept the band together last summer, re-signing thirtysomething franchise legends Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to keep the championship dream going with captain Sidney Crosby still playing elite hockey.
But look at the circumstances surrounding this team and you’ll find alarming similarities to the Wings as the end of their streak. These Pens enjoyed a decade and a half of incredible success, punctuated by three Stanley Cups, but they haven’t won a playoff series in six years, bowing out in Round 1 every season since their consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017. Because of their continued success, they haven’t owned a top-five draft pick in 17 years. They are perceived to have one of the very worst prospect crops in the NHL. Their “upgrades” at the 2023 Trade Deadline were Mikael Granlund and the since-injured Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov.
I want to see them just make the playoffs, and get knocked out in the first round. No way do I want them in the draft lottery.
I was just about to say the same thing. L'il Gary wants to find a way to give the Pens Bedard SO bad.
Steeb -- 100%%% BUT - I doubt the Pens can achieve the position they need to get it. A team in the top 11 has an opportunity to win the lottery and pick 1st. The Pens would likely have to lose out in order to just get to 11th. Only the top 11 teams have a shot to win - and others in the lottery can only advance ten spots in the draft. Plus, a team can only improve their chances 2x in 5 years (commencing with the 2022 draft) I think Uncle Gary waits a bit before flexing in the Pens favor if they have no shot at Bedard.
Of course, but Gary's going to pull whatever strings he can to get Bedard to Pit. Not making the playoffs just makes it easier for him to concoct a BS reason to give him to the Pens. See also, Rangers winning the lottery (2nd pick which was Kakko) after playing in the playoffs.
If theyre rigging lotteries, Bedard is in
1: chicago
2: montreal
3: philly
4: anywhere else
I hate being poster children for the sh*tbirds, but this article is exactly right.
So all I can says, keep doing what your doing Pens.
Definitely hits the nail on the head. I remember seeing a few similar thoughts being written when they were negotiating with Malkin. Alas, he'll have a cap hit of $6.1 until he's 39.
Tankathon | 2023 NHL Draft Order & Lottery Simulator
Play the Tankathon simulated draft! If the draft is rigged by the NHL One of Montreal and Chicago will win the pick. Detroit has a shot too. Gary loves his Penguins for sure, but he likes his Original 6 teams too! :)
Bettman would freak if Bedard played in Columbus or out West in San Jose or Anaheim.
I just ran my simulation and ANAHEIM got Bedard
2023 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon
This article is exactly what I was saying on this and another forum and torched for during those years in question. The Wings should have been torn down in the summer of 2013.
But a few things left out of this article add to that picture:
1) Wings had an owner nearing the end of his life that wanted to win championships regardless of what it cost the organizations (Wings and Tigers) in the future. He then moved onto wanting a legacy that included transforming a slice of downtown with an arena and accompanying neighborhood (which his cheap son has promised to develop twice now each time for large government handouts).
2) Ken Holland was enabled by the ownership because he had the past resume and was executing Ilitch's all-in strategy.
3) Mike Babcock was enabled by KH and Jim Nill (see Team Canada affiliations starting in '04) and basically played Dats and Z as much as possible until they broke. They went to management each year and tried to get Babcock fired (True according to former Wings Colaiacovo. Who said, "I played with guys in Detroit that hated him. I told you that every year in Detroit the leaders would go in and try to get him fired, but Kenny Holland wouldnt even entertain that conversation because he knew what he was getting as a coach, Colaiacovo told TSN.)
4) Jeff Blashill's hiring at the end of the Dats and Z's run gave the organization an excuse to try the formula with a different cook and when unsuccessful to move onto the next wave (Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, and Bertuzzi). See management had really hired Blash to develop these young players while the remaining contracts came off the books (a retool instead of a complete rebuild). Blash played the young players in important situations (unlike Babcock)--unless you count defense where Hronek, Jensen, and Cholowski's minutes lagged behind DeKeyser, Green, Kronwall, and Daley. The on ice results were disastrous and kept getting worse.Yet, management was happy with him (rewarding him with multiple contract renewals--even extending Blash's contract beyond KH's contract expiration). It was his leaning on the young players that cost Detroit a top selection when the team went 8-3 down the stretch at the end of March and to finish in April of 2019. He leaned on that BLM line to secure a contract extension--but that extension was only for 2 yrs and meant the Wings were hedging that they could fire him and just pay him off that last year if he didn't start producing in '19-20.
5) SY was hired as GM and the rebuild reset by 1 year again as SY evaluated the organization.
So there are alot of factors that are specific to the Wings that don't apply to the Pens--even if the Crosby/Malkin and Dats/Z fading with age kind of does.
In all, the Pens waited too long to start their rebuild. 2020 was their year after their 2nd consecutive playoff exit with 0 rounds won (I know technically the qualifying round didn't count as a playoff round that COVID year)....but hopefully everyone gets the point--which is it's too late. They lost in the 1st round the past 2 yrs as well.
But give them their due...when the Pens missed the playoffs in 7 of 8 years: the next year the won the Cup. The Wings: they will miss the playoffs for the 7th time and no one believes they are Cup team next year....
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