Follow me on Twitter Follow @TheJeremyLaura

With 11 games left to play, Detroit can only collect 61 standings points even if they won them all. 1 less than the next worst teams. That is a humbling thought and realization to what this season has been. For everyone expecting bad, it was even worse. Apart from injuries, the fragility of the group has been exploited by silence from management and a hold placed on any and all contract negotiations. Even with 20 on the horizon expiring, zero movement. Until Alex Biega.

I don’t mind the Biega extension at all. 1 yr, 875K all can be buried in Minors if needed. But the kids (Bertuzzi, Mantha, Fabbri and Athanasiou until he was traded) all have maneuvered through the wall of silence. As much as I appreciate Yzerman taking some time to evaluate, it feels like these players were put through some unnecessary additional stresses in a season that has been full of it.

You may have noticed a lack of post game quotes lately. They are, for the most part, useless right now. Even during a rare win, nothing the team does inspires the thought that they may be turning a corner. Instead, the top line is putting up points, Bernier is bailing out the defense, and the worst season in 30 years (or more) is slip sliding away. The frustration of zero input from the higher ups has boiled over even to a blogger like myself.

This game actually started ok. Bernier had to make too many saves and then a bizarre wrist shot from 40 feet out beats him. Bertuzzi redirects a Mantha backhand and Wings show some life. A Power Play goal in the second comes out of nowhere, and Christopher Ehn gets his 2nd goal in 54 games on a bizarre broken play. Pretty much call and response. The end of the second degraded into a penalty parade which continued into the third.

Once upon a time I would have spend some ink going after the refs for some ridiculous calls. There isn’t much point. Aho scored a short handed goal because of poor decision making. Carolina (as well as the rest of the league) was clearly the better team and even broken down they are fighting for a place at the table post season. The team is doing so without several important players and a lot of guts. If I had to guess, though, a post season berth will probably be a short one. There is more separation in the east from the top teams to the bottom than I can remember. Boston and Tampa Bay stand a full head taller than Toronto (though Toronto beat TB tonight) and Florida is the only other team in the Atlantic that has any sort of real shot to get in. Both wild card spots will go to the Metro as it is simply a better division this year. Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia are all playing at a high level with the Islanders on the outside looking in. It feels like the first round could be swept across the board with the gaps this year.

And so Detroit finds itself alone at the bottom of a bizarre season. They are guaranteed a 4th overall pick, and should probably plan on that. Even so, the player chosen could well see NHL time next year. In part because there are some talented players available, in part because the competition going into camp seems limited. Until contracts are signed, there are a lot of open spots. Personally, if Bertuzzi and Mantha were signed at near the same as Larkin I’d be fine with that. Fabbri is a bit of a head scratcher. He’s been so good since moving here (and would probably have several suitors in the post season) but do you make a 6 million dollar commitment there? Detroit only has about 46 million committed to 11 players for next year, so there’s plenty of room. If Fabbri can be worked in for 6yrs x 6 mil are you ok with that? It doesn’t seem too far out there.

The real questions will continue to be on defense. Watching Trevor Van Riemsdyk tonight you wonder if he’d be any sort of a fit. He’s scheduled to be a free agent. Dougie Hamilton has one more year left on his deal, but acquiring him would be very tough. Joel Edmunson is a UFA coming up. Are any of these faces you think could help out the blue line situation?

For certain Daley and Ericsson are gone. Green left a little bit early. Nemeth and Biega have one more year each. Should Detroit bring back Bowey? I’m not convinced. Lindstrom and Hronek have had good moments. But the legitimate top line D still feels elusive. Seider is developing, but will he be there at 19/20 years old?

Howard has probably realized the writing is on the wall. It sounds like Petruzzeli is starting to come on a bit, and that would be a huge boost. Larsson? We’ll see at camp next summer how everyone has progressed.

At this point, the games themselves just feel a bit empty. It’s a bit like doing the monthly budget and trying to figure out what will be left over. With the Corona Virus threatening to shut down the Worlds events, players like Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi and Fabbri won’t even have that to look forward to. It is going to be a long and painful summer. There will be a brief lift in spirits at the Draft. Yzerman will have figured out who he will re sign and who will be let go. The team will start to take shape for another year that will likely end in the bottom 3 - 5.

So, what are you looking at or looking for? When you watch these games, knowing where Detroit is and that a chunk of these players won’t be back, what comes to mind? Please take some time in the comments to share observations and thoughts. Thanks to all of you who are stopping by to read and comment. Keep it coming!

Join the Discussion: » 24 Comments » Post New Comment

» Interview with former Griffin and Wing, GR assistant coach Brian Lashoff

» Wings work their way to a win on Datsyuk’s night.

» Wings face Islanders looking to stop the skid, strong power play could help

» Interview with Griffins head coach Dan Watson - the difference

» Detroit swept in California after 5-4 OT loss to Sharks