As we approach the final two weeks of the NHL's regular season and playoff hockey arrives in April, I look back at the 2018-2019 season and it feels like it didn’t even happen. Part of me feels like a bad fan and supporter of the Detroit Red Wings. Have I become a fair-weather fan? Is my lack of interest for watching this team during one of their worst seasons in recent history excusable? I watched a few games early on to see what this young team was made of but after an 0-7 start including a 7-3 and 8-2 beat down from Montreal and Boston, I quickly realized that we may be in another Detroit “Dead Things” era (Red Wings from late 60’s to early 80’s). Looking back, this was the worst start since the 1985-86 season. But at least during that season they were coming off back to back playoff years and “The Captain” Steve Yzerman had arrived. Besides the 85-86 season and 89-90 season, the Red Wings never missed the playoffs during his entire career. And that streak didn’t end after he retired. 25 straight years until 2016 the Detroit Red Wings were in the playoffs. Even though the last few playoff appearances were short first round exits, it still was something my generation got used to every year. Meaningful hockey in April… We were spoiled and took it for granted. And now I miss it. We had players we grew up loving from Yzerman to Lidstrom, Shanahan, Datsyuk… Groups like the Russian Five and The Grind Line. Nicknames like the The Professor, Ozzie, and Mule. All gone now along with the playoff appearances and apparently my interest. I still read the occasional news articles and check scores, but I can’t recall the last time I went out of my way to watch a game on TV this season. It seemed like a good day to post this as today, March 26th marks the 22nd anniversary of Fight Night at the Joe / The Brawl in Hockeytown. This event marked a huge turning point for Red Wings hockey. To go from contenders to champions we needed to get past the Colorado Avalanche and on this evening we made quite the statement. We got our revenge on Claude Lemieux’s cheap shot on Kris Draper from the year before, went on to win the game, and ultimately win Detroit’s first Stanley Cup in 42 years. The Wings would go on to win the Cup again the following year, again in 2002 and again in 2008.
It was an amazing era, but all good eras eventually come to an end (it’s coming Patiots fans). It’s time for myself and every Red Wings fan to get over it and accept what we have. And it’s not as bad as it may seem. The Red Wings franchise is still a very proud and committed franchise. I don’t anticipate this lull lasting for too long (not another 20 year "Dead Things" stretch). GM Ken Holland finally realized the era was over and it was time to reload and rebuild. We have some promising pieces in young players such as Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, & Tyler Bertuzzi. We’ve got some great prospects in Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina. Ken Holland has loaded up on draft picks and is poised to snag some more young weapons this June. If we’re lucky and can get the #1 pick, that could mean Jack Hughes who is the undisputed upcoming #1 pick and who has the skills to be a big part in turning the franchise around. And who knows, maybe Steve Yzerman comes back to lead Detroit as their new GM? There are a lot of question marks for the future of Hockeytown but I am going to side with optimism, get over the past, and hopefully this time next year, I’ll be writing about the resurgence of hockey in Detroit and an upcoming playoff run.
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