There is a look of utter exhaustion on the faces of Detroit players during media scrums right now. Another long losing streak feels even longer when the same reporters do their best to pose the same questions and Dylan Larkin and co do their best to blend brutal honesty with self accountability and still try to stand up for one another. It was an unfortunate still from one of the last post game scrums that hit me particularly hard. A somber Dylan Larkin doing the 100 yard stare as he took the slings and arrows again. I’d seen that look before.
Back in the 1990s, my grandparents would spend their summers as campsite managers at Yellowstone park. It was a truly brilliant approach to retirement. They would be compensated (to a meager degree) and live at the campgrounds in their RV. Going to visit them was amazing. Seeing herds of bison roaming, amazing natural springs and geysers, and a snowball fight in the middle of summer while hiking mountain trails. My Grandparents generation even managed to turn a months long vacation into an opportunity.
However, it was on the snowball hike that one of the most devious, if not more hilarious, pranks I’d ever witnessed was set into motion. on my mother’s side, the men are rather tall. My brothers are 6’5… and 6’2… and we have an uncle who is a whopping 6’7…. What I’ve noticed is that, at some point, tall individuals take pride in being tall. It can cause boasting, condescension and buffoonery to a fine degree. This behemoth of an uncle would critique the “women and kids… for being too slow. I was heading into 8th grade at barely 5 ft tall. A family friend of ours, a man who could truly prank you into oblivion, decided to feed the fires. He pulled out a map and said, “boy, if it weren’t for the women and kids I’d take this shortcut back to camp. It goes through some marsh but it’s so much quicker that I could beat the cars back.… The trap was set.
“Let me see that!… Was the sound of the bait being feasted on. The uncle quickly committed to the trail, with my older brother (near 6’1…) in tow. I pleaded to go and was silenced. The next thing I knew, they were loading up my uncle and brother with all of our water and the rest of a very good trail mix. The two were off. We gently sauntered back to the parking area and I pleaded that we go faster, as not to be embarrassed. It was in that moment that our family friend broke silence with a laugh, so hearty and sincere, that I can still hear it today. “Don’t worry about it…. That was about lunch time.
Near dark, after 6 pm, my brother and uncle still weren’t back. I could hear some arguing and murmuring. When the two finally stumbled into camp, they looked like death warmed over. This incident, more than 25 years later, is still the cause of some hard feelings. Our dear friend had taken the map, folded it inward (mad magazine style) and erased about 6 miles of nasty marshes. My brother and Uncle never saw it coming. It was beautiful.
So, what on earth does this have to do with hockey, or the Red Wings in particular? During the last draft I heard fans say, and others comment, “we need one or two more top picks and we’ll be in good shape…. Those fans had folded the map. The misery of the past year was already behind them and no one thought the next year could feel nearly as bad. Welcome to December of 2019. It feels just as bad, or worse.
When the draft rolls around this year, Detroit will most likely be picking between 1 and 6. The lottery has not been friendly to the Red Wings. If they finish where they are now, dead last, do yourself a favor and count on picking 4th. Anything above that is gravy. But also, do yourself and everyone else a favor. Remember how this feels, right now. Before a flippant suggestion that “one more top 5 pick… would solve everything, remind yourself of the cost. As it stands, many of the same fans (not all) that wanted a horrible finish want to fire the coach and trade half the team. Ask yourself, “to what end?… Brian Burke has famously said that top picks don’t often get traded because of the pain it took to acquire them. In Detroit, the fans for the first time in a generation understand that logic. No band aid solution in the world is worth losing out on what a horrible season will earn you.
Detroit is in the middle of the marshes right now. It is painful, there are cuts and bruises, and no clear sign of the end. The camp site is much further off than they expected. In this case, do as my uncle did. Stay hydrated, eat some trail mix, and keep pushing through. The end to all of this exists, but slowing down and giving up only makes it that much further off.
Thanks to everyone who stops by to read and comment. Keep it coming! Tonight will see another opportunity for Detroit to take some positive steps against a difficult opponent in the New York Islanders. We’ll have some post game analysis here. Unless something changes drastically, this will be a difficult game. Hope to see you back here tonight!