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Moritz Seider is generating a lot of buzz in Sweden. Fellow Detroit prospect Lucas Raymond has signed his entry level deal. It’s been just 5 days since Yzerman orchestrated his biggest deal so far in trading Mantha for Vrana, Panik, a first and a second, and the team seems to be firing on all cylinders for the first time this season.
Newcomer Jakub Vrana has slotted just ahead of Adam Erne with 12 goals and is the current goal leader. (Freshly departed Anthony Mantha now has 13 with 2 goals and 1 assist in 2 games with Washington). Vrana will look to build on his totals again today. In some ways, Chicago is an ideal group for what JV brings to the table. The amount of back and forth action across three zones favors speed greatly. In the last game, Detroit bucked that trend with Chicago and had some very good cycle time, but expect the Blackhawks to try and stretch out Detroit’s defense today.
With only 10 games left in the season, here is Detroit’s current breakdown:
Detroit so far - 16-23-6
11 games remaining
My prediction from January - 19 wins
Current place - 26th
First round pick without lottery win - between 6 and 8
This most recent win streak (combined with Vancouver being shut down) has catapulted Detroit outside of the bottom 5. This is a tough one to chew on, as once the season ends, (depending on the lottery), picking 6th or higher again (possibly as high at 10th if Detroit continues to play well) will seem like a bitter pill. No one wants to tank (I should clarify that no one in Detroit wants to tank) and Buffalo’s 16 game losing streak is just untouchable for anyone who wants to pick in the top 3. New Jersey decided they want one more top two pick, as does Ottawa. Ottawa’s ownership has realized they can sell tickets on high picks while trying to keep close to the salary floor. Of the teams Detroit has passed, only Anaheim seems to be the genuine “bad luck” bunch.
The pain of a losing season is tempered (slightly) with a higher draft pick. The rules this year would have had Detroit at 3 overall last year. It was too much for the Pegula’s to pass up to try and get another top dog. Sadly, the team is talking about another full restart with only Dahlin being “untouchable”. Who ever wins the lottery this year is in a type of “bonus round”, as the new rule where you can only win twice in 5 years doesn’t take effect until next season.
The strangeness of the season has truly kicked in, as some teams are in the “dog days” at the 40+ game mark, but with only a dozen or so games left to play. The type of streak Detroit is having would normally die down and see a rough last patch while contenders did their final pre playoff tuneup. At this point, some teams are going to limp over the finish line. The news that playoffs could return to the bubble has some players more than a little discouraged. Some players buckled, emotionally, under the format last year.
On the bright side, this draft is a bit sideways for the top 30. It will either heavily favor players whose seasons weren’t shut down, or be full of 2020 scouting notes with the hope that those will hold up. Detroit’s strength lately has been in European scouting. Germany, Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic all seem to be hot beds for the next generation of stars. Those programs have taken enormous leaps forward, and may continue to benefit from an influx of more widely known North American talent should the CHL have to continue with shutdowns into next season.
So, what do you want to see today? It’s a lot more fun to watch when Detroit is rolling like this. The confidence, the fun, just seeing more than 1 or 2 goals scored while Greiss makes an impressive outing. In the long run, is it better for the team to find success now at the risk of losing out on a top 5 pick? Let me know, and I’ll see you after the game.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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