By Bob Duff, Featurd
It’s been a long time since the Detroit Red Wings were this bad. Headed for their third straight absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s first stretch of hopelessness of that length for the franchise since a five-year run of bad non-playoff hockey from 1978-79 through 1982-83.
The Wings do have some pieces in place for the future. Center Dylan Larkin is enjoying a career year and forwards Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou are progressing toward status as steady 20-goal producers. But the defense remains uncertain and the goaltending is aging.