The admission was difficult but necessary.
General manager Ken Holland acknowledged two months ago that he didn’t think the Detroit Red Wings were a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season. Decent, not dominant. Hopeful, not hyped-up. Within Hockeytown, such concessions border on heresy. But it was the first indication that the Wings are finally coming to terms with where they rank in the NHL.
“After that five or six teams, there are 20 teams with not much difference between them," Holland told nhl.com in August. "We’re in that group of 20. … As we sit today, we do not have a superstar in his prime.