Joe Louis Arena has been home to many memorable moments in Red Wings History. Since its opening in 1979, the Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups, made 25 straight playoff appearances, and seen many hall of famers such as Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, etc skate on its ice. The Red Wings became the standard for a NHL franchise in their heyday from the late 1990s to the late 2000s. The Red Wings were the only Detroit sports team that we could rely on to always give us hope whenever the other Detroit teams disappoint us (sorry guys).
As the Joe heads into its final season, we are looking at a different Red Wings team than from years past. If there is one thing that the Red Wings have with Joe Louis Arena, it’s that both are worn out. Ever since 2012, the Red Wings haven’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Players that embodied the spirit of the Red Wings in their prime like Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, and now Pavel Datsyuk have retired or moved on to the next phase of their lives. While Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, and many older Red Wings from the 2008 Stanley Cup team remain, they can’t carry a team like they used to. Newer players like Dylan Larkin and Danny DeKeyser have shown a lot of promise to be potential cornerstones, they aren’t ready to carry the next great Red Wings team. For a few years, it seems that the Red Wings’ main goal is to maintain the playoff streak rather than to contend for a Stanley Cup. Even Ken Holland admitted that fans shouldn’t expect the Red Wings to win many Stanley Cups but doesn’t want to rebuild. That’s a very wishy-washy philosophy for a sports team, especially a sports team with the rich history of the Red Wings, to operate under.
Given all these circumstances, if the Red Wings want to make winning a Stanley Cup their goal, then it’s time to forget about the streak and start a rebuild. It’s not in Holland’s job description as General Manager to do what he wants with the Red Wings. It’s his job to put the Red Wings in the best position to win a Stanley Cup. If Holland doesn’t agree with that mission, Mike Ilitich can show Holland the door. The Red Wings need to find out what they have in their prospects. Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Joe Hicketts, etc. need to show Holland and Blashill whether or not they can be significant players to their hockey team. If they can play, don’t let the veterans stop them from getting regular playing time (a problem for some of the Red Wings prospects during the last season). If they can’t play, try to trade them for a young veteran who can help them in the long term or draft picks. If the Red Wings don’t make the playoffs, the payoff is that they will get a higher draft pick to find an elite talent to complement their current pieces. Given the Red Wings track record for developing talent, being higher up in the draft by two or three draft picks could go a long way in finding a franchise player for their team.
Perhaps the hardest part about a rebuild would be fans accepting that the Red Wings need to worry about the future instead of the streak. For a city that has fallen on hard times over the past two decades, the Red Wings always served as a way to give Detroit some pride whenever it was needed. Detroiters could always rely on the Red Wings to represent Detroit’s true blue collar nature. Even though the Red Wings aren’t that team right now, that doesn’t mean they can’t be the pride of Detroit again if they rebuild now. With the ending of an era at Joe Louis Arena, they have a chance to turn the page on the current chapter and start a new one. It’s now or never Red Wings.
(Editor's Note. On Friday night, the Red Wings traded Datysuk's contract and the 16th pick in the NHL Draft to the Phoenix Coyotes for the 20th pick, 53rd pick, and Joe Vitale. This is a significant step in the right direction for the Red Wings as they hope to sign Steven Stamkos, a premier forward in the NHL).
