By Jordan Long
The Detroit Red Wings are not part of the 24 NHL teams who will participate in the playoffs if play resumes with the current 24 team playoff proposal, ending the season for Detroit. They went an NHL worst 17-54-5 for a total of 39 points. Detroit has the best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery.
It was Detroit’s worst year in recent memory. They didn’t play well on either end of the ice. On defense, they were last in the league for goals allowed and the power play kill. Detroit permitted teams to dictate the pace of play. Rival skaters kept the puck in the Detroit end for scoring chances. Teams scored 3.73 goals per game. On the power play kill, Detroit couldn’t keep teams from lighting the lamp on them, killing off 74.3% of the penalties they took.
The offense wasn’t much better. When Detroit skaters had opportunities to score, they couldn’t shoot the puck past the opponents’ goaltender, even on rebounds. Detroit scored 2 goals per game, last in the NHL.
Their power play was the best part of their game. They could set it up to score goals. Their percentage on the power play wasn’t great at 14.9% but it wasn’t dead last in the league. Their power play ranked 29th. All these stats add up to a season the Red Wings want to forget.
Even with the mediocre season, Detroit is going to keep Head Coach Jeff Blashill. According to Detroitnews.com, Detroit Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman said, “I have no plans of making a coaching change at this time. Jeff has done a good job. It’s been a difficult position in his tenure here. The Red Wings are in a rebuild, and for a while, for the last two or three trade deadlines, the team has traded valuable players, good players, for future assets.”
Detroit should move on from Blashill. He has been the Head Coach for the Red Wings for the past 5 years. His record is a disappointing 153-194-52 or a winning percentage of .449. The Red Wings advanced to the playoffs just once under Blashill, 2016. That year they lost in the 1st-round to the Tamp Bay Lightning.
Blashill has proven he can’t coach at the NHL level. Yzerman is taking a gamble to keep him around. A slow start or finishing dead last again and Yzerman will need to make the tough decision to let Blashill go.
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