Interesting read as a non wing fan!

Simple question : do you see the light at the end of the tunnel? It will be a hard year for wings fan, and my guess is next year too. When will Wings could hope for a playoffs spot?

WARNING: Long answer to short question.

The veteran churn is going to dictate the speed of the rebuild. Anyone complaining about the team's performance this year had their expectations WAY out of line, they are exactly who everyone thought they were. They were supposed to be bad, and they are. They need more talent, and being bad this year will help. I think with all the tinkering, Stevie is already figuring out ways to clean up this mess, get younger (though not rushing prospects), and return some of the pride back.

Who goes at the end of the year? You can expect Daley, Ericsson, and Green to be gone (and maybe 1 or 2 of them in February). But, are any of the prospects worth graduating? Hicketts got called up this morning, what does DET have in him (he's played really well at GR this year so far, and hasn't look that out of place with his previous DET stints)? Does Seider graduate after this year? What about Kaski? Lindstrom? There is 2 open spots on D next year.

Who goes on the F side? Does a Stanley Cup contender that needs bottom 6 help come calling for Glendening (who is winning faceoffs at 55% this year)? Does someone make a deal for Helm (both Glendening and Helm would need some type of retention)? Is de la Rose worth keeping (as a 4th liner at 950k, so far yes, for at least 1 more year), or does he get moved at the deadline? And then who graduates? Zadina should (he's been very snakebitten, but his engagement is way up, along with his defensive play). Ras has looked great at C in GR, and probably is close to graduating next year. What about Smith and Svech? Turgeon and Kuffner? And Pearson looks like he may be something too. That's 7 Fs that potentially need room (not counting Veleno, who may need a little bit of time on the 200ft game). There isn't 7 spots available in DET next year yet.

If they land a top 2 pick (I lean Byfield over Laferniere, I value Cs more), then it could definitely jumpstart the rebuilding. Imagine these lines:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha
Zadina - Byfield - AA
Hirose - Ras - Erne
Smith - de la Rose - Perlini

Cholo - Hronek
DDK - Seider
Nemeth - Bowey
Hicketts

Bench:
Fil
Abdelkader
Nielsen

Next season they compete: 2021-2022

I just came here from Chicago to shed some light on a few things.
1) I think it’s a great trade for both teams. Perlini can get the consistent ice time he needs and he’s very low risk high reward. Hawks get a big prospect who was lower on your depth charts but could develop into an NHL player.

2) I liked Perlini. He has potential but he was so inconsistent. Chicago never gave him the RW2 minutes he needed and if the guy sneezed wrong he was benched. DET is the perfect team for him to go to and get consistent top 6 minutes.

3) just to clarify your above statement, besides Boqvist and Mitchell, Hawks have Beaudin coming up likely next season as well. Those 3 should take over the long term reigns of the Hawks D Corp and will be 3 of top 4. the Hawks are bulging with D prospects who all have a ceiling of 5/6 so it’s good competition for Regula to develop. I do like that he’s played top minutes with Bouchard and Boqvist in the NHL factory that is the London Knights.

Hope this works out for both. Time will tell.