If you were a hockey fan from the mid-1990s to about 2010, two of the most consistently dominant teams in the NHL were the Detroit Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers. Both were consistently bandied about as potential Stanley Cup Finalists, if not champions. Both teams seemingly got whatever free agent or trade deal acquisition they wanted (granted, this was before the salary cap). And both teams were in an era of sustained excellence. They were regularly in the playoffs and rarely missed.
Then Detroit won a few Stanley Cups and then wanted to move more to the Eastern Conference in 2013-14. In their first three seasons in the East, the Red Wings reached the playoffs but lost in the first round. Since the end of 2015-16, they have failed to make the playoffs. We Flyers fans complained about missing five years of the postseason. Detroit hasn't made it since Obama was in office.
Let's back up here a second. This isn't a joke of a team like Buffalo or Ottawa that pretty much perpetually sucks. This is the Detroit Red Wings. Until 2017, the last time they missed the playoffs was 1986. In the last 10 years, they have placed no higher than fifth place, and they've only gotten there three times. They've had a lot of top picks, with Dylan Larkin, being among their best. At the same time, they've whiffed on a lot of them.
Are we the Red Wings now?
Detroit was once a juggernaut. Any Flyers fan who saw them run over our team in the 97 Stanley Cup will remember. Now, they are perpetually bottom dwellers. They are in a "forever rebuild." Buffalo is trying to get out of one.
Are we in that same mould? We have had a lot of draft selections go sideways (thanks, Ron Hextall and Chuck Fletcher!). While we've gone to the playoffs more than Detroit, most of those trips have been one-and-done. Detroit also has hired a lot of former Red Wings players into key roles within the organization. The Flyers have always been accused of that sort of nepotism.
It's been a long time since a top free agent went to Detroit. Likewise, the last big-name free agent we signed was, let me check, Kevin Hayes? And we know happened to him.
Detroit is mired in a Dylan Larkin situation. It looks as if we are moving into one with Matvei Michkov? Are we the same teams now? Dear God, I hope not. Let's see if we can figure this out soon. Five years of no postseason was rough enough. I don't want to see a decade-long version.
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