bmcgill022-blog

[bmcgill022-blog]

Detroit Red Wings: What Led to Their Struggle

The Detroit Red Wings secured a spot in the playoffs for twenty-five years straight. This streak spanned from 1990-2015. Stanley cups were won, records were broken, and jerseys were hung in the rafters. Currently, the Red Wings are stuck in the bottom tier of the NHL with nowhere to go but up.

The NHL saw a lockout take place during the 2004-05 season. After negotiations concluded, The salary cap was reintroduced to professional hockey for the first time since the great depression. Teams in larger markets and organizations with history and tradition were able to spend freely to acquire talent before this adjustment. This included the Detroit Red Wings.

When the salary cap era began, the Red Wings were consistent Stanley Cup contenders. However, their chances began to dwindle with the passing of each year until they eventually missed post season play. Their demise was not something that occurred overnight, but it was definitely something that people saw coming.

In order to compete at the highest level, Red Wings brass was willing to spend hefty amounts to bring in the best players. Once those players were in Detroit, other free agents would follow suit. It made the most sense from a player’s standpoint because they would receive a large pay day, as well as joining a contending team. When the salary cap was introduced, Detroit had to shake things up. The top free agents no longer saw this organization as a viable option to help them achieve their goals.

The Red Wings were still competitive at this point in time and they felt like they were just a few pieces away from creating something special. In order to get those few pieces, they decided to trade away picks and prospects. The Red Wings decided to trade away the future to better their odds in the present. Unfortunately, their plan didn’t pan out and things progressively got worse.

Toward the end of the playoff streak, Detroit was simply doing what it could to keep the streak alive, knowing at this point in time they were not a cup contender. From this point forward, the Red Wings made many mistakes that sped up their downfall. Since the minor system was lacking talent, they were forced to overpay players just to keep their head afloat. Then, when they had assets ready to move, they would hold onto them too long until their value had dropped within the market. After this, we would then overpay them in terms of what their market value was worth.

This process was continuous for a handful of years until the streak eventually ended. When the streak had concluded, the Red Wings were left with minimal assets, horrible contracts, and no future in sight. Things began to turn around when they were able to obtain a mass amount of draft picks over the course of a three year span. Now, the red wings can reload their roster while avoiding the same mistakes from the past. Things are finally looking up for the organization as it seems they have found some gems throughout the draft process.