Detroit Red Wings Season Preview

The Red Wings are in a very unfamiliar place entering the 2017-18 season as they ended the longest NHL playoff streak last year.With the addition of Trevor Daley the Red Wings seem like they are trying to improve their roster for a playoff push but with a weak defence and weak goaltending, a rebuild may be better off. Since the Red Wings have question marks up and down their roster, another season with no playoffs are likely.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Trevor Daley, Luke Witkowski
Departures: Drew Miller, Tomas Nosek, Mitch Callahan



Forwards:

Captain Henrik Zetterberg had the best season of any Red Wings player last season showing he can still produce placing in the top-five points by left wingers. Zetterberg is up there in age now though so it will be hard for Detroit to rely on him to produce like that again. Tomas Tatar had an up-and-down campaign but was rewarded with a new deal to keep him with the Wings. Gustav Nyquist also had an average season as he caps off the top line which could make or break the season. Last year's big free agent acquisition Frans Nielsen got an all-star berth in his first season in Motown producing well as a second-line center. Big Anthony Mantha produced well as a rookie so expect him to push for a 50-point season if he gets power play time. Justin Abdelkader may finish out the top six as a grinder who also has the ability to score. Speedster Dylan Larkin had a great rookie season but struggled in his sophomore campaign; for a successful year the rookie Larkin will be needed. Andreas Athanasiou has quietly turned into a great bottom-six forward with his mix of speed and talent; if he takes an even bigger step he could compete with Nyquist or Tatar for first-line time. Tyler Bertuzzi was the MVP of Detroit's AHL Grand Rapid Griffins Calder Cup championship team last year so he should be ready to make the leap to the NHL. Darren Helm remains one of the best penalty killers with his speed and will get bottom-six time but he can still contribute offensively. Evgeny Svechnikov made his NHL debut last year and should be ready for a full-time job when October comes around. Last year's huge disappointment Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening will compete for the fourth-line center position.



Defenceman:

The defence is one of the worst units in the league as they have lots of average older defencemen who would be fourth or fifth defencemen on Stanley Cup contenders. Danny Dekeyser is now the best defenceman on the team but he is far from a number one as he only contributed 12 points last year for a team that struggled to produce offensively. Mike Green is no longer the Norris trophy winner he once was but he still is among the best in the league at running a power play. Niklas Kronwall was once regarded as one of the top defencemen in the NHL but those days are over as he has regressed with age into a slow non-offensive player. After two straight Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins, Trevor Daley was brought in to provide experience but this is not a playoff team so Detroit may have been better letting a young guy step in. Jonathan Ericsson used to be a pretty solid defenceman alongside Kronwall but now he is nothing more than a bottom-pair defenceman as buyout rumours swirled around him this off season. The last spot on the defence will be a competition between Xavier Ouellet and Nick Jensen but if both perform, Ericsson could be the odd man out.



Goaltending:

The goalie tandem last year was very average as Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek were under-performers and may be suited better for backup roles. Howard is a the veteran while Mrazek has been the goalie of the future for a while but management does not seem to be getting along with him recently. The two will probably split games unless one can prove to be a full-time starter.

Projected Lineup:

Tomas Tatar	Henrik Zetterberg	Gustav Nyquist
Anthony Mantha	Frans Nielsen	Justin Abdelkader
Tyler Bertuzzi	Dylan Larkin	Andreas Athanasiou
Darren Helm	Riley Sheahan	Evgeny Svechnikov
Matt Lorito	Luke Glendening	Martin Frk

Danny Dekeyser	Mike Green
Niklas Kronwall	Trevor Daley
Jonathan Ericsson	Xavier Ouellet
Luke Witkowski	Nick Jensen

Jimmy Howard

Petr Mrazek

Jared Coreau

Top 10 Players:

10. Niklas Kronwall

9. Mike Green

8. Justin Abdelkader

7. Danny Dekeyser

6. Jimmy Howard

5. Dylan Larkin

4. Frans Nielsen

3. Gustav Nyquist

2. Tomas Tatar



1. Henrik Zetterberg

Projected Finish: 75 Points (7th in Atlantic)
Last Year: 79 Points (7th in Atlantic)

Photo credit for Trevor Daley goes to https://www.si.com/. Henrik Zetterberg goes to https://www.cbssports.com/. Danny Dekeyser goes to http://www.sportsnet.ca/. Tomas Tatar goes to http://bleacherreport.com/.

Detroit Lions Season Preview

Matthew Stafford put up MVP-worthy numbers last season until a finger injury caused the Lions to slide at the end of the season losing in the wildcard round. If Stafford plays like he did the last year, the Lions will be in playoff contention down the stretch even with a below-average defence. With teams like the Panthers, Buccaneers and Vikings looking to make the playoffs again, it will be hard for Detroit.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Ricky Wagner, TJ Lang, Paul Worrilow, DJ Hayden, Darren Fells, Cornelius Washington
Departures: Riley Reiff, Larry Warford, DeAndre Levy, Rafael Bush, Andre Roberts



Offence:

Matthew Stafford played at an elite level last season taking the Lions to the playoffs and it will be interesting to see if he can do it again. He will likely take a step down as he does not have an elite receiver or running game to support him. Ameer Abdullah will be the starting back and he played good in that role until he got injured a season ago. Pass catching specialist Theo Riddick plays behind him as well as Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington. Matt Asiata will play fullback coming over from the division rival Vikings.



Golden Tate is a quick shifty receiver but he lacks the size and strength to make himself a true number one wide out. Marvin Jones dominated the first weeks of last year's season but after that slowed down a lot making us wonder what Jones will show in the upcoming season. After that the slot receiver will be Jared Abbrederis with TJ Jones, Kenny Golladay, Jace Billingsley and Keshawn Martin fighting for time. Tight end Eric Ebron has not lived up to his potential but still serves as a solid tight end and they brought in blocking specialist Darren Fells to protect Stafford and catch passes. The offensive line had a makeover with the addition of two of the best free agents in their positions - TJ Lang and Ricky Wagner - coming to play the right side of the line. Greg Robinson will take over at left tackle after a disappointing year with the Rams. Graham Glasgow at fill in at right guard and Travis Swanson at center.

Defence:



The star of the defensive line is Ghanaian Ezekiel Ansah who broke out with 14.5 sacks two years ago before falling to 2.0 last year. Expect Ansah to get back to his game wrecking way in September as he teams up with former Bear Cornelius Washington. Haloti Ngata is up there in age but he still stuffs the run like nobody else and he will clog the middle with A'Shawn Robinson. First-round pick Jarrad Davis will look to improve the linebacker core replacing DeAndre Levy. Paul Worrilow comes from Atlanta to play with veteran Tahir Whitehead who has spent his whole career with the Lions. Darius Slay is the defence's best player and he is emerging into a shutdown cornerback the Lions have been looking for. DJ Hayden comes from Oakland to play the nickel cornerback and Nevin Lawson will be the other main cornerback, Quandre Diggs may get some time too. Glover Quin was the only defensive player in the NFL to play every snap as he will continue to ball hawk passes like the best. Tavon Wilson will be the other starting safety of the defensive unit.

Special Teams:

The tandem of Matt Prater and Sam Martin forms one of the best special team duos in the NFL as Prater's booming leg allows him to kick field goals from any range (he holds the record for the longest) and Martin is among the elite punters. The returners will be Golden Tate receiving punts and Dwayne Washington returning kickoffs.

Starters:

Offence	Defence
Golden Tate	Cornelius Washington
Marvin Jones	A'Shawn Robinson
Jared Abbrederis	Haloti Ngata
Greg Robinson	Ezekiel Ansah
Graham Glasgow	Paul Worrilow
Travis Swanson	Jarrad Davis
TJ Lang	Tahir Whitehead
Ricky Wagner	Darius Slay
Eric Ebron	Tavon Wilson
Matthew Stafford	Glover Quin
Ameer Abdullah	Nevin Lawson

2017 Draft:

21. Jarrad Davis
53. Teez Tabor
96. Kenny Golladay
124. Jalen Reeves-Maybin
127. Michael Roberts
165. Jamal Agnew
205. Jeremiah Ledbetter
215. Brad Kaaya
250. Pat O'Connor

Top 10 Players:

10. Tahir Whitehead

9. Marvin Jones

8. Haloti Ngata

7. Glover Quin

6. Golden Tate

5. Ricky Wagner

4. TJ Lang

3. Ezekiel Ansah



2. Darius Slay

1. Matthew Stafford

Season Prediction: 7-9 (3rd in NFC North)
Last Year: 9-7

Photo credit for TJ Lang goes to https://www.si.com/. Matthew Stafford goes to http://www.foxsports.com/. Darius Slay goes to http://www.cbssports.com/. Ezekiel Ansah goes to http://www.espn.com/.