red wings preseason projections from the athletic. they were spot on last year with the wings.
if theyre going to be a surprise, then guys like zadina and ras have to be better and live up to their draft position. they should be better than last year, but they were pretty bad last year.
what they really need is the one thing they really cant control: lottery luck. there are some superstar prospects coming up but only if youre top two. the league has fucked them with the lottery system so far and it shows in their roster.
that said, ras was a miss. zadina looks like a miss too. that's what is really killing them up front.
hopefully seider can live up to his billing and the new goalie with the ridiculously long last name doesnt regress. that could give them a shot.
but is the best thing for them to have a shot at the playoffs? what would really be best - and is more likely - is that theyre bad for another year but show signs of growth, bertuzzi is good enough to attract serious trade interest, they miss the playoffs and pick up some assets for bert and leddy, and then look to make their move back to the playoffs next season when raymond is here and seider is more experienced.