Red Wings Back To Playoffs This Season? 'We Have A Team That Can Do It'

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Photo credit © Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

For Red Wings fans, three straight years missing the playoffs feels like an eternity. 

There's a good chance that drought will reach four or five before it comes to an end. The team is in the throes of a slow rebuilding process, in a division that continues to get stronger.

Remember the words of GM Steve Yzerman at his introductory press conference: "We have a lot of work to do. I caution everyone to temper the excitement." 

For the players, patience doesn't come so naturally. They want to win now, like veteran defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who joined the Wings toward the end of their 25-year playoff streak, and who would like the start a new one. DeKeyser believes the team has the pieces this season to get back where it belongs. 

"Obviously it’s a little bit different here for Wings fans, used to being in the deep playoff runs. But the last couple years haven’t gone our way," he told the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket. "We got a great youth movement coming in here, a lot of good talent. Larks, Double-A, Mantha, Bertuzzi, a lot of good young players.

"We’re trying to get back into the playoffs, and I think we have a team that can do it. It’s just about being consistent every night. We see flashes throughout the season at some points and then at other points, for whatever reason, we don’t have it. For us to get back into the playoffs, we’re going to have to be at the top of our game every night." 

While the Wings finished third to last in the East last season, 24 points out of a playoff spot, they did make strides. Led by the core of forwards DeKeyser mentioned, they proved capable of hanging with some of the best teams in the league. 

They showed a sense of resiliency that wasn't so evident the couple years prior.

"I agree," DeKeyser said. "I think a lot of that is having younger guys on the team who are coming in with a fire under them and trying to make an impression on the staff and the coaches. It's always good when young players have that fight and have that energy, because I think it pushes everybody to be a little bit better as well." 

How does it feel to be a veteran entering his seventh season: "It sounds weird. It’s gone by quick, that’s for sure. It’s crazy how young the league has gotten now. I think somebody was telling me the other day, the average age of the NHL is younger than 25 for the first time ever. I’m going to be 30 in March, so I’m an old man now."
Was he satisfied with his 2017-18 season: "Yeah, I thought for the most part I played pretty well last year. Obviously I had the wrist injury there, so that set me back a little bit bit (in December and January). When I was out on the ice I thought I played well. I felt good last year, had some good confidence, and just looking forward to trying to keep that going this year." 
Can defenseman Filip Hronek be an All-Star in the NHL: "Yeah, he definitely has the potential to be. At the start of the season I know he was little bummed out, not making the team out of camp. But for him that could have went one of two ways. He could have gone down to Grand Rapids and sulked about it and not done much about it, but he went down there, played hard and when he was ready to get a chance he came up and played great for us. 

"He’s an excellent player, and in the games that he did play last year he showed what he can do. I’m sure he’s another one of those young guys that wants to come in and make an impact right at the start of the season this year, and he has the potential definitely to do that."