| It's hockey season again folks. And to you few not reading this from Medicine Hat, Alberta that means the NHL and its premier clubs like the Detroit Red Wings are ready to start their pursuit of the Stanley Cup. And that's where I lose any ability to report clearly, concisely and objectively. See, I have no idea how the Wings are this season. Chances are they aren't good but you would not know it when you talk to hockey fans. They think every year is the year even Wings fans, who after just watching their club get soundly beaten just sneaking into the playoffs in 2013 seem to think that anything is possible. Thanks Kevin Garnett, Hockey is a strange game and I personally don't understand it that well. There are some obvious similarities to other sports and their rules but really what is icing? Who cares about charging? |
I rest my case.
Anyway to give them their moment, i will try to preview the Red Wings 2014 campaign.
The Wings' defense is what they will have to rely on this season with young defensemen Danny DeKeyser and Brendan Smith to turn around a team that floundered much of 2013 with injuries and instability. And that;s about as much as I know. My hometown Grand Rapids Griffins, the Wings' AHL affiliate, will be getting plenty of calls for guys up and down this season just as they did the season before.
Of course, you all want predictions. One of the articles I read had them and liked the Wings in most writers' opinions to at least make the playoffs. That's fair. I think so too. It's the NHL -- where the word 'parody' was invented. But do I think they're any good? Not really. Not until they figure out the scoring and what to make of goalie Jimmy Howard who remains the starter but who more and more is asked of every season but he continues to not deliver. Coach Mike Babcock might be on his way out too, so the media will tell you. Better enjoy the memories this season then, Red Wings fans. It might be a dark time in the team's history just like every Detroit team eventually hits.
References
Detroit Free Press Staff. (2014, October 8). Detroit Red Wings predictions: They'll be better but not great. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
Kevin Garnett "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!" Interview (6.17.08). (2008, June 8). Retrieved October 10, 2014.
Savage, B. (2014, October 8). Defensemen are key to success of Red Wings' season, according to NBC Sports broadcasters. Retrieved October 10, 2014.