As Red Wings fans are surely aware, the team hasn't done itself any favors in the draft lottery of late.
By winning eight of their past nine games, the Red Wings have fallen from second on the lottery board to fifth. This is magnified by the fact that the team with the first overall pick will have the chance to draft a possible superstar in center Jack Hughes. Winger Kaapo Kakko lingers just below him.
Not going to happen, Jeff Blashill told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket.
"The question of sitting some of those players, we’ve got a whole bunch not in our lineup right now. For me to go and ask a Larkin, a Bertuzzi, a Mantha to take a seat in this game, I think it sends the wrong message to where we’re trying to build to as quickly as possible," Blashill said. "We don’t want to be great eight years from now. We want to be great or better next year. The best way to be better next year is for Bertuzzi, Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou to continue to take the steps that they’ve shown and progress along the arch that they’re on right now, and the best way for them to do that is to continue to gain experience and confidence.
"For example, Larkin’s line's gone head to head in back to back games against (Patrice) Bergeron’s line and (Sidney) Crosby’s line, two of the best lines in the league, and they’ve won that match. All that does for us is give them big-time confidence as we head into the offseason and next season that they can be an elite line in this league. I would temper the higher draft pick with that confidence of those players and the development of those players. That’s going to have a bigger impact on us on a much sooner timeline than anybody we pick."
Beyond that, there's the factor of the lottery itself. Even the last-place team only has an 18.5 percent chance of getting the top pick. Detroit's odds of picking first have fallen from 13.5 percent to 8.5 percent over the past nine games, while its odds of picking in the top three have fallen from about 38 percent to about 26 percent.
The top three teams in the lottery are currently the Senators (62 points), Kings (67) and Devils (70). They're followed by the Sabres (72), Red Wings (74) and Rangers (75). Detroit has two games remaining, at Pittsburgh on Thursday and versus Buffalo on Saturday.
However things shake out in the lottery, which takes place Tuesday night, the Red Wings can be encouraged that several of their important young players made significant strides this season.
"Now, we’re learning at a lower part of the arch, without question. But the process those guys have to go through, they have to learn how to manage their game, they have to learn how to attack without giving tons up, they have to learn how to every single night be as close to their A-game as possible. A year ago we weren’t very good in overtime at all, and I’ve basically used the same players this year as last year and we’ve been way better at it. Why? Because it’s a learned process. It takes time.
"I think the fact that these guys are really starting to show the steps and the production needed to win is a great thing. We’ve got tons of work ahead of us. We’re at a spot right now where there’s no pressure on us. It’s easier to play when there’s no pressure on you, teams don’t get up as if we were one of the best teams in the league. I get all that. We’ve got huge steps ahead of us that we’re going to have to take, but certainly those guys that we’re going to rely on to help bring success here sooner rather than later have taken huge steps."
And they'll continue to play as the season winds down, for better or worse.