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The Detroit Red Wings‘ debut season at Little Caesars Arena fell short Mathew Barzal Jersey , even of low expectations.Detroit was not projected by many to make the playoffs but the Red Wings didn’t come close.
Detroit won just 30 games and finished 24 points behind the wild-card teams in the Eastern Conference, faring even worse than it did during last year’s farewell season at Joe Louis Arena. And some nights, it was as quiet as a library in their spectacular new home.
”It was a tough year,” forward Justin Abdelkader said. ”Hopefully, we have guys in here that understand the long offseason gives all of us an opportunity to come back bigger, stronger and faster. We’ve got a lot of picks and hopefully some of those guys can help at some point next season and in the years to come. I don’t think we’re far off because we have a lot of pieces in this room.”
The Red Wings, who didn’t miss the playoffs from 1991 to 2016, had their season end in with the regular-season finale in consecutive years for the first time since 1979-83. Back then, fans referred to them as Dead Wings and the team gave away cars to draw fans to the games.
HE’S BACK
The Red Wings will continue to rely on general manager Ken Holland. He helped the franchise win four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008 and was given a two-year deal recently to stay in place and turn things around.
”When I fly in an airplane, I always love to fly with a pilot who’s done it before,” team President Chris Ilitch said. ”Ken Holland has had the experience of seeing a Detroit Red Wing team in the 1980s build from the ground all the way up to the Stanley Cup champion.”
ON THE BENCH
Jeff Blashill, who won 33 and 41 games the previous two years as coach Michael Hutchinson Jersey , is expected to have his future addressed by Holland after the Red Wings gather Tuesday. On Monday, he was named the head coach for the U.S. national team competing at the world championships in Denmark next month.
BRIGHT SPOTS
The Red Wings don’t have any superstars right now, but they have some younger players who could develop into game-changers.
Dylan Larkin, a 21-year-old center, led the team with 63 points and made a relatively smooth transition from wing.
”We had some guys that are significant in the growth of this team I thought take steps forward,” Blashill said. ”Larkin certainly would be at the top of that list. I’ve said before we need some guys to become elite players in their prime. I thought he took a step from a guy who a year ago in the middle part of the year was struggling on the wing, to a guy who is really coming as a two-way center.”
Anthony Mantha, a 23-year-old wing, led the team with 23 goals. Tyler Bertuzzi had 24 points in 48 games in his first extended opportunity to play in the NHL as a 23-year-old wing.
ONE TO WATCH
Andreas Athanasiou, a 23-year-old center, was inconsistent after holding out for a bigger contract last fall. He is a restricted free agent, eligible for arbitration Womens Esa Lindell Jersey , and may want to be on the move.
Does he want to play for the Red Wings next season?
”I want to be an NHL player,” he said. ”I want to be in this league. I’ve been very happy to wear a Red Wings wheel, but it’s a business so we’ll see what happens.”
LOTTERY LUCK
The Red Wings have an 8.5-percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick, a selection that is widely is expected to be Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Detroit desperately needs a potential superstar such as Dahlin, but will have a pair of first-round picks and an NHL-high 11 selections in the draft.
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While the Bengals defense settles in to learn a new system during training camp, linebacker Vontaze Burfict is just passing through town.
He'll miss the start of the season for a third year in a row, this time on a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancers. It's a conundrum for the Bengals , who have remained loyal to Burfict despite his history of misconduct and suspensions.
His absence will be especially noteworthy this year as the Bengals adjust to a new defense under first-year coordinator Teryl Austin.
When camp opens with the first practice on Thursday, they'll be teaching him the system while also preparing everyone else to play without him for the first month.
"Unfortunately, we're probably too experienced at it," coach Marvin Lewis said.
The results so far haven't been all that encouraging.
Burfict was suspended for the first three games in 2016 because of his history of egregious hits during games, including his blow to Antonio Brown's head during the Steelers' first-round playoff victory the previous season. The Bengals lost two of three and finished with a losing record.
Last year Henrik Lundqvist Jersey Kids , Burfict got another three-game suspension from the league for his egregious hit on Kansas City's Anthony Sherman during a preseason game. Undeterred, the Bengals gave Burfict a three-year contract extension and got off to an 0-3 start and another losing season.
Burfict is one of the most vocal leaders on the defense. He'll practice with the team until the preseason ends and his suspension begins, preventing him from being around the team for a month.
"We're going to miss the heck out of Vontaze," cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said Wednesday.
Coaches liken it to missing an injured player, though it's not an exact comparison. When a player gets hurt, someone else steps into the job full time. In this case, the Bengals have to get the defense on the same page of the new playbook, while also getting it ready to function without one of its leaders for a significant part of the season.
They signed linebacker Preston Brown to a one-year deal in March, bringing in a player from Buffalo who can help them get through that first month without Burfict.
"We have to have the other guys assume the leadership, the communication, everything that way," Lewis said. "He's such a dominant personality that we almost have to stifle him in order to do that."
Lewis declined to say whether he would hold Burfict out of the preseason games Patrick Maroon Jersey , as he's done in the past when the linebacker faced a season-opening suspension. Austin plans to give Burfict a lot of practice time.
"I anticipate him practicing like nothing is going on and then when we get toward the end and he has to take a break, then he has to take a break," Austin said.
Burfict will miss the season opener at Indianapolis followed by a Thursday night home game against AFC North rival Baltimore and road games against Carolina and Atlanta. He can return for an Oct. 7 game against Miami at Paul Brown Stadium, which is followed by another home game against the Steelers.
He has a history of getting back to speed quickly after returning from a suspension.
"One thing to his credit: He's been able to come back to playing as though he's been playing football," Lewis said.
"If we say he's going to play 20 snaps, he plays 40. If we say 30 snaps, he plays 50. He won't come out once he's in there, and then all he'll do afterward is tell you guys how he's winded and we made him play too much. But he's the one who won't come off the field."
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