The Detroit Red Wings Must Take the Next Step and Make the Playoffs
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning Skate on Wednesday with Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick. He was asked about the Detroit Red Wings and what they need to do before fans start losing interest in a team that never gets over the hump.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Gord Stellick: “I guess the last one just about all those teams bundled together in the East. And you mentioned seeing Kent Hughes. Obviously, he’s on a high, and whatever happens, is going to be good. What about the Red Wings? Again, if they don’t make it, they lose night, and again, they were there. I mean, they were really there, along with Ottawa and along with Columbus, actually, a few weeks ago. And the take about, I’m not, obviously Steve Yzerman is entrenched there, as they have no problem with that. But just boy, oh boy, we focus on Buffalo, but boy, the Red Wings, if they don’t make it, again, it’s not far different.”
Elliotte Friedman: “Yeah, it’s interesting there, I think that’s one of the, I don’t know if you guys have been there, but that’s one of the best buildings in the league. It can’t be easy for that organization to not see the playoffs. And I also believe, as I look at what’s happening with Buffalo, it’s bad for the NHL. You should not have teams that don’t make the playoffs for that amount of time. And I feel the same way about the Red Wings.
I just think it’s bad when your team is not in the playoffs for that long. It hurts. Like I’m working on something about writing about like the tax issue. The no-state tax issue. And for a long time, my kind of opinion was that in life, some places have their advantages, they have their disadvantages. And the key to life is making things work with those and against those. But as I’ve gotten older, and maybe it’s my Canadian bias showing too, but I just think that the over 31 years now, without the Stanley Cup, we’ll see what happens this year.
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I mean, all seven teams are right around the playoffs, but I think eventually, people start to think we’re not going to win. I’m going to win. I’m going to get interested in something else, even when it comes to Canada and hockey, I think you run that risk. And that’s the way I look at places like Detroit and Buffalo. I just after a while, especially now, like the Lions, have finally figured it out. They look like they’ve got real staying power. I always think that, what do you run the risk of just telling your fan base. what do we have to be interested about here?
And I do think that in Detroit, like they get close, and then they can’t get over the hump. That’s the thing that’s most impressive with Ottawa right now, they look like they have the ability to finally get over the hump. Montreal is creating the impression, especially after night, they look like they have the ability to get over the hump.
Detroit hasn’t shown that yet. They get close, and they don’t get there. There’s still time, but they’ve got to prove it.”
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