The Detroit Red Wings are building a competitor and it shows

This time last year, who would have thought the Detroit Red Wings would be five points out of a divisional playoff berth and be in the running for a wildcard position? I know it certainly shocks me when I think about how far along this team has come.

As the Detroit Red Wings continue on with their season, they are 13-10-3 at the time of writing over 26 games played. They sit fourth in the Atlantic Division with 29 points and are looking to start playing like a true competitor in the National Hockey League.

The time has come, and it’s pretty exciting for this fanbase—a storied franchise with a long history of success from the 1990s into the 2000s. While things took a downhill turn as the rebuild began, fan interest also seemed to take a severe dive in a negative direction.

But, as the 2021-22 season continues on, it looks like the Red Wings are getting back to the level where the fans are genuinely interested and bought into where the organization is going. The team is starting to look like a competitor in many different ways.

The Detroit Red Wings are truly building a competitor once again.

An article from November by The Detroit Free Press detailed how the Red Wings see that buy-in from fans once again at games. It talks about how Little Caesars Arena has become a lively place for the team’s games once again.

The concept of Little Caesars Arena and District Detroit was geared around a crowd being downtown supporting the team for games and having so many things to do. But, with the team being on the downturn and then a global pandemic, things have certainly been challenging.

But now, in 2021-22, the Red Wings are starting to look like a team on the verge of being a competitor. Between rising stars making quite the debut, veterans beginning to really take control of leadership, and a rookie netminder coming into his own.

This Red Wings organization is in great hands with General Manager Steve Yzerman, and he is starting to see all of his trades, signings, hirings, and draft picks begin to pan out. It’s incredible to think that Yzerman has been able to make all of this happen since coming back to the organization in the Spring of 2019.

Not to mention, he’s been able to do this through a global pandemic, and now, what feels like being on the other side of the worst of it, the rebuild is looking like it’s nearly over. The Red Wings are back and better than ever.

They’re a competitor, and it’s not to say they’re heading to the Stanley Cup Championship this year, but they certainly are not going to be heading for a top-three lottery pick at the depths of the league once again.