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Last night Tanev was moved from Calgary to Dallas (with a virtual pit stop in Jersey to drop off some salary). Just 4 days ago a Leafs round table had talked about 2 defenseman that Toronto was looking at and Tanev was one of them. Tarasenko is now rumored to be willing to waive his NTC as Ottawa wants to be fairly active. This could be a fairly busy weekend.
For Detroit, there seems to be consensus that Yzerman not give up or go chasing after anything unless there are players who want to be moved or a deal too good to pass up. The team’s success right now is a plus and it’s certainly not time to go all in right now. That doesn’t mean that Detroit hasn’t caught the attention of the pondering police.
I’d been hearing the “why are the Wings having success?” Banter the same as some of you. A big thanks to McMasterMike1968 for dropping into the comments that NHL radio had more of the same. Essentially, how can a team this bad at 5 on 5 or this new into a rebuild or (insert excuse here) be doing this well? The Bally crew is getting asked the same thing and we’ve gone through it almost ad nauseam.
During some of the bad patches there would be fans of other teams dropping the “those clowns will never make the playoffs” as their team sits on the outside looking in. Honestly, Detroit’s shooting percentage is really high. This season has also been a tale of two or three teams. Rough stretch, trip to Europe doesn’t go well and then they seem to pull it together. Rough stretch, then an unbeaten swing through California. A couple of losses in Western Canada then string together 6 wins.
I think we can agree that Lyon and Kane have had a big impact on the club. Gostisbehere has helped with the power play. Copp and Compher solid on the PK. Regardless, this is a game of bounces where teams that are deficit in areas can find regular season success. We’ve seen a goalie carry a team. If you lived through the 80s you saw scoring at a completely different level. There are “surprise” teams every year. Detroit is getting on people’s nerves for whatever reason, but I do have a couple of theories.
First, the pundits don’t like to be wrong. The Atlantic was ranked as inferior to the Metro division and Detroit was supposed to be at or near the bottom. Right now the Atlantic holds both wild card spots and Detroit is sitting above Tampa and just 2 points behind Toronto as Florida has taken over and Boston sits at second. The Islanders and Devils had a lot of fanfare coming into the season and so far we’ve seen a coaching change and last night the Devils took on salary for a 4th round pick. That doesn’t mean that they’re out by any stretch.
Beyond the egos, there are the “time clock” teams. Toronto ranks at the top of those, and league news goes through Toronto. The core 4 era may be in its closing phases with sizeable raises coming and not near the amount of post season success that was expected. There is an anxious group hoping to see a team with the league’s best goal scorer get to the finals. New York has thrown a lot of money into building a team with some highly touted first round picks. Last year they looked absolutely stacked but weren’t able to get through. It was the Panthers team that is still very impressive that won the conference and went to the finals.
Sport is business. Right now (more than ever) it’s a business relying more and more on gambling revenue. I’m not sure if I see more gambling commercials or more gambling recovery commercials. The two certainly seem to go hand in hand. But, teams like New York and Toronto have money pouring in and the more success, the more those bets keep coming. Detroit has converted Kid Rock’s restaurant into a betting bar and grill and you can basically bet on every part of the game. ESPN has an in house gambling operation (that’s not going to burn anyone). Whether it seems logical or not, there is still a chunk of debt that needs to be paid off and other teams draw more money to that end.
Whatever the reason, Detroit still has a fairly massive hill to climb. Patrick Roy is coming to town and he’s a coach that bring immediate “bumps” in performance. The Isles know a win tonight could put them right outside the bubble again. Detroit’s on a 6 game winning streak and it’s the first since Yzerman has taken over. This could be a tough one tonight. But, as long as Detroit holds a spot in the post season, prepare for more and more “it doesn’t make sense” commentary.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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