Detroit Red Wings: Missing the playoffs won’t be a bad thing

Even though the Detroit Red Wings have a lot of games left, it’s clear that this team is not a Stanley Cup contender. Missing the playoffs won’t be a bad thing.

The Detroit Red Wings had arguably their worst loss of the season last night. The Red Wings lost 4-1 to the Arizona Coyotes and looked bad the whole game. This is the same Coyotes team that lost 7-0 the night before and had lost seven of their last eight games. The Coyotes never trailed against the Red Wings last night.

I said in my preview for this game that the Red Wings had to have this one. Losing, especially like they did, was unacceptable. Fellow Detroit Jock City writer Patrick Rocca wrote a very good article about this being an unfixable mess.

This mess was caused by Ken Holland but I also think the playoff streak is also to blame. I think Holland and the rest of the management team wanted to keep that streak going.

Just getting in was good enough for them and it clearly shows. Whether it was them trading Calle Jarnkrok for David Legwand, or losing Martin Frk, Teemu Pulkkinen and others to waivers so they could keep Dan Cleary and other veterans.

Ken Holland right now is in Joe Dumars territory. Like Dumars, Holland has had very good success here but now his team is mediocre.

I respectfully disagree with the people that think this team can get a top five-ten pick. I think this team is like the Pistons from 2009-2014, either 9th or 12th. Not good enough to win a cup and not bad enough to get a top five pick.

The playoff streak, while great, has been a detriment to this franchise. The Red Wings haven’t been cup contenders since Nicklas Lidstrom retired. They have only been out of the first round once since 2009, haven’t been to the conference final since 2009 and finally last year they backed into the playoffs. Ken Holland even admitted this year the Red Wings aren’t cup contenders. The Red Wings have hope but will they finally go for the rebuild.

I have very little hope that the Red Wings will go for the rebuild this year which is why if they miss the playoffs this year, it won’t be a bad thing. Red Wings management clearly needs a wakeup call. What Holland and also Jimmy Devellano are doing is clearly not working.

While former Red Wing management guys such as Steve Yzerman and Jim Nill have the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars as cup contenders respectively, Ken Holland and Devellano have the Red Wings destined for mediocrity.

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Devellano also ripped prized prospect Anthony Mantha last year calling him “very disappointing”. That’s nice…

Red Wing fans, myself included, feel like the game has passed Devellano and Holland by and it’s time for them to either wakeup and fix this mess or for Chris Ilitch to fire them.