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There’s excitement in Hockeytown as the Detroit Red Wings are looking much more like an NHL team since changing coaches from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan.
All of a sudden, positivity is running rampant.
“I think there’s some signs that are leading to some positive things, and I think we just got to keep building,” forward Joe Veleno said.
People are even beginning to utter the P word – as in playoffs.
Well, at the risk of being a New Year’s Eve party pooper, sorry all, but this is a bubble that’s in need of bursting.
Do you believe in miracles? If not, you’d better start, because it’s going to take a miracle for the Red Wings to make the playoffs.
We don’t want to invoke the infamous Jim Mora interview, but in reality, we’re left with no choice?
Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs. You kidding me?
Red Wings Schedule Inviting Optimism
Detroit is playing host to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their traditional New Year’s Eve game. And yes, that is a winnable game. In fact, so are a number of upcoming Red Wings games.
There’s a road trip to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s followed by a four-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks.
On paper, a 4-2 slate over the next six games wouldn’t be out of the question.
However, then starts to get ugly. There’s a four-game road trip through Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia. Detroit has to make its Western Canada swing. As well, there’s a four-game sojourn to Washington, Vegas, Utah and Colorado.
All of those trips hold the potential to be rally killers. And there’s more bad news. Accoring to tankathon.com, the Red Wings face the NHL’s toughest schedule the rest of the way. Detroit opponents are holding a combined winnning percentage of .574.
Numbers Don’t Add Up To Postseason Play
It’s the Senators who currently hold down the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Ottawa is currently on pace for a 91-point season. The Sens are eight points ahead of the Red Wings. They rank 28th in terms of remaining strength of schedule.
If you set that 91-point objective as the bar the Red Wings must attain to qualify for postseason play, they’re going to need to win 30 of their remaining 46 games. That means a team currently with a .444 point percentage must play .652 hockey the rest of the way.
And remember, there are six other teams ahead of Detroit in the standings before you climb all way up to Ottawa. They all aren’t going to go in the tank. As well, they’ll all be playing each other, so some of those teams will be getting standings points most every night.
The website moneypuck.com is giving the Wings much better odds of landing the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL entry draft (7.1%) than the chance that the club will be a Stanley Cup playoff participant (2.2%).
Only five NHL teams are given shorter odds of qualifying for postseason play than Detroit.
More must-reads:
- Is Kirill Kaprizov worth a record-setting contract?
- Texas' Arch Manning has concern on OL after season-ending injury
- The 'NBA playoff point-per-game leaders' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Sam Girard trade speculation continues
The Sam Girard trade speculation continues Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now: The Colorado Avalanche feel they have their No. 2 center in Brock Nelson. Gabriel Landeskog is training and not rehabbing this offseason. They do have some questions as to who will be their No. 3 center, and are there any depth options that they might be interested in adding? The Avalanche will likely continue looking at trading defenseman Sam Girard. The Avs brought in Ryan Lindgren at the trade deadline, and he was used on the second pairing. They weren’t able to re-sign him, and countered with adding Brent Burns. Girard’s role has reduced over the years, and they may not want to pay $5 million to someone who has seen their minutes decreasing. The Avs traded Charlie Coyle this offseason as they didn’t like the idea of paying that money to someone who is a third-line center. Could the Vancouver Canucks just wait and see what unfolds after the season starts to address their need at center? Sekeres and Price: Jeff Marek on the Sekeres and Price show talking about the Vancouver Canucks second-line center vacancy and how they could take a wait-and-see approach. “I know everybody wants everything done right away and wants everything settled before training camp, and we don’t want any competition for spots, and we know what the team is and, etc, etc, etc. I don’t know about you guys, but I wouldn’t even be surprised if you know the Vancouver Canucks, and talks so much, and you guys have talked so much about the second line center position. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they just leave that cap space open and see how the chips fall after October and November. And see where the team is at, and see where the health is at, and see what emerges in the marketplace. Like, I don’t, I understand the anxiety if you’re a Vancouver Canucks fan, because you want to get back to the playoffs, you want to get back to having winning team. But I don’t know if I’m (Jim) Rutherford/(Patrik) Allvin here, maybe I’m saying, Listen, if I don’t have a deal that I like, what’s the hurry here?
Seattle Mariners Send Right-Handed Reliever Outright to Triple-A Tacoma
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners added to their minor league bullpen depth by sending a familiar face to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on Sunday. Mariners right-handed reliever Collin Snider was designated for assignment on July 30 following the club's trade acquisition of left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson. Snider cleared waivers and he was sent to Tacoma outright. Snider hasn't made an appearance for Seattle in the majors in nearly two months. He was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor strain June 4. He began a rehab assignment with Tacoma on July 5 and made nine appearances with the club. Snider was activated off the injured list the same day he was designated for assignment. Snider posted a 5.47 ERA with the Mariners with 24 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched across 24 appearances this year. While with the Rainiers, he had a 5.06 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched. Seattle claimed Snider off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 6, 2024, and had a career resurgence with the M's in 2024. Snider had a 1.94 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched across 42 outings with the Mariners last season. Snider will provide Seattle with crucial reliever depth in the minors for the final two months of the season. The Mariners lost right-handed reliever Trent Thornton with a torn left Achilles tendon Thursday. Snider's will join many other Tacoma relievers who have made major league appearances for Seattle this season, including Troy Taylor, Tayler Saucedo, Casey Lawrence, Jesse Hahn, Jhonathan Diaz and others.
Milwaukee Brewers: Nestor Cortes Gone, Standout Rookie 3B Has Emerged as Gem from Would-Be Lose-Lose Trade
Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Brewers‘ return haul from trading co-closer Devin Williams to the Yankees last December. Eight months later, Cortes is a member of the Padres, logging all of two starts in Milwaukee before injuries sapped his season. Over in New York, Williams lost his closer’s job, got it back, and has had one good month en route to a 5.04 ERA. Without the other part of Milwaukee’s incoming package, then minor-league third baseman Caleb Durbin, the trade would look at this juncture like a lose-lose scenario. Thanks to Durbin, it’s been anything but for the Brewers. Caleb Durbin is Milwaukee Brewers’ diamond in the rough Durbin didn’t make the spring training cut. Instead, the Brewers went with fellow rookie Oliver Dunn as the team’s starting third baseman. Durbin went down to Triple-A Nashville. Dunn didn’t last. After he struggled through the first three weeks of the season, he and Durbin switched places and the latter hasn’t squandered his shot. Following a slow start, he’s turned up the heat at the dish while playing outstanding defense. He’s had an OPS around .800 for over two months now and has his season slashline up to .263/.344/.372. His 2.2 WAR in 86 games played is tied for 10th among all third basemen, making him one of the position’s more valuable players. The Brewers saw plenty of promise in Durbin when they traded for him, coming off a strong season with New York’s Triple-A affiliate. Even though he didn’t, he was a decent candidate to make the team out of spring. The team likely didn’t see a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, which he is. By WAR, he and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin have contributed the same value to their teams, more than any other NL rookies. Cortes, on the other hand, was supposed to be a consistent cog in the rotation. Last year for the Yankees, he made 30 starts and recorded a 3.77 ERA. Instead, he’s still making his way back from injury ahead of start number three this season. In San Diego. Of course, Milwaukee did turn him into outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who will provide depth while Jackson Chourio is hurt. To dump Cortes’ salary, however, they had to attach a prospect, infielder Jorge Quintana. Neither Cortes nor Williams has been what the receiving team hoped. Both will be free agents this offseason. Only the Yankees, however, are at risk of walking away empty-handed. With years of team control remaining, the Brewers have in Durbin what looks to be their third baseman of both the present and future. The trade didn’t deliver according to expectations, but it’s hard to be too upset with the results.
Best MLB trades from the last decade: National League
With MLB's trade deadline now behind us, Yardbarker's MLB writers got together this week to identify the best trade each club has made in the last decade (more or less). (Records and stats are entering play on Monday.)
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