Defending the title

Defending our title won’t be easy, the Wings will surely be competitive again this year but in the Atlantic division, everything’s possible… just ask the Bruins.

The Sabres who were already a powerhouse are now even better, don’t expect the Bruins to miss the playoffs two years in a row and the Leafs should be at the top of the league again this year.  It seems like the Habs and the Lightning always find a way to be in the playoffs run until the end of the season and the Panthers are coming off an excellent preseason, remember, only five of these teams can take part of the playoffs, that’s insane!

The Wings don’t have the depth they use to have anymore, 4 rookie forwards joined the team this year, only 3 forwards are over 30yo, the lack of experience could cost of a few games this season.  Purcell and Huberdeau are coming off a difficult season and were relegated to our bottom 6 squad.  David Moss, Joni Pitkanen, Ray Emery, Jason Garrison, Andrew MacDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner and PA Parenteau left during the off season and were replaced by Cam Talbot, Matt Stajan, Andre Benoit and rookies Nichushkin, Scheifele, Kuznetsov and MacKinnon.  “We are excited about what Nathan can bring to our team, he’ll definitely have his shot on our top 2 lines this year, but you have to remember, he’s a rookie on a team that just won the Cup, you need to deserve your ice time on the top 2 lines.”

“We expect our defensive squad to be solid in front of Jonathan, as it’s been the case in the past 2 years, our solid defensive play should be our main strength this season again.”

Detroit finished first in the league defensively in the past two season according respectively 159 and 181 goals against.  “It’s usually hard to score against us and we want to keep it that way, it’s not just about our defensemen, it’s a team concept, our forwards contribute a lot, they did sacrifice personal statistics for the good of the team… and let’s not forget Quick who was just amazing for us.”

Have a good season all!