Theyll finish ahead of both. 50/50 for playoffs though, every wild card contender is exactly one injury away from falling apart so its hard to say any of them is a favourite.

I'll agree that Buffalo and Ottawa are better than Detroit right now. But way better? Sorry, I'm not buying it.

I keep saying it. Buffalo and Ottawa aren't perfect hockey teams. They have weaknesses just like Detroit does.

Cozens and Norris clear Compher as the 2C. And both teams have way better top lines and a better D corps for this upcoming season.

Its not the top end talent thats issue. Buffalo's blue line is brutal outside of the two first picks, and their goalie has seven games to his name.

OTT is betting everything on korpisalo who outside of last year was terrible. And then adding tarasenko thinking he'll be good again even though age has 100% caught up to him. Det's depth clears both. Edvinsson/Kasper with high upside potential.

That's your opinion. It doesn't make it true.

That's all fans look at. Star power. Detroit has upgraded their depth and will be improved. If stars won Cups by themselves, wouldn't Toronto have won 4 Cups by now? Oilers?

If were talking strictly making the playoffs i can understand expecting star power to carry mediocre depth to the post season. But I think OTT BUF have virtually no depth. Mild improvements for either of those teams and Id bet on them finishing ahead of DET but they didn't.

I just don't understand why most fans believe Detroit is way behind Buffalo and Ottawa? It's not just the OP who believes this. What am I missing?

When Ottawa traded for Cat last summer they were given so many accolades. Detroit acquires Cat this summer and it's like "Red Wings are still bad."

Why the double standard? Is the Yzerman hate really this bad?

Hey we'll gladly take him in San Jose if Red Wings fans hate him that much! 😁

Add on... just to clarify. I don't think it's Red Wings fans who hate Yzerman. It's other teams fans. Although I've seen a few Red Wings fans talk crap about him. ☹️

lol what 😂😂😂 dude you’re running Holl, petry , Ghost and Chiarot. No playoff teams want them.

And Husso is meh.

Compher and Copp are 3rd liners

Debrincat was brutal last year, showed he couldn’t carry a 2nd line . So he’s not a 1st liner. Raymond isn’t a 1st liner, he played like a 3rd liner last year. Compher and Copp are 3rd liners. Berggren is a rookie

Debrincat was brutal last year, showed he couldn’t carry a 2nd line . So he’s not a 1st liner. Raymond isn’t a 1st liner, he played like a 3rd liner last year. Compher and Copp are 3rd liners. Berggren is a rookie

Debrincat was brutal last year, showed he couldn’t carry a 2nd line . So he’s not a 1st liner. Raymond isn’t a 1st liner, he played like a 3rd liner last year. Compher and Copp are 3rd liners. Berggren is a rookie

27 goals and 66 points is a brutal year? 🤔

Berggren isn't a rookie. He played 67 games last season.

Raymond is 21 years old and has played 2 seasons. Even Stutzle struggled a bit at first before he took off. I'm not expecting Raymond to be Stutzle but calm your tits.

You're using a strawman argument to justify your flawed narrative.

im not det fan so idk what youre on about.

2nd of all, Holl petry and ghost are better depth than guys like erik johnson, connor clifton and jacob bryson. yeah detroit has a bunch of 2nd/3rd line fringe guys. thats still better than pretending tarasenko is the player he was 5 years ago. or that mackewan is an nhler.

All they need from Tarasenko is 50pts . Kubalik will make up the other 35-40 that we expected Cat to be as a 80+ pts player that he wasn’t

Debrincat has a lot of his pts on the PP. His line was stuck in the defensive zone cuz he was terrible 5v5

Cat is hardly the only player to dine out on the power play. What was one of the Red Wings biggest weaknesses last season? A brutal PP. You think Cat helps this?

This just in. You do know PP goals count, right? 😉

Do we discredit Ovechkin for his PP goal prowess? 🤔

I don't think they're that far behind if at all. I like detroit but obviously want ottawa to be better. Personally I'm just excited to watch some hockey this year, it will be fun to see these improved teams battle the regulars for a spot.

Here, here! It won't be long now! Hockey will be back soon, my friend! 😁

I think the context of both teams going for the same player are important. Detroit acquires him a year after picking up a handful of higher priced free agents the season before, so while the PLAYER is an upgrade, Detroit kinda played the same song last off-season.

When Ottawa had done it, it was after years and years of being super...conservative when it came out to handing out contracts, be it to their own drafted players, or free agents. It was a big move and a big swing for a team that had otherwise been incredibly conservative in recent years

Feels good to have someone on here who’s actually educated and knows what they’re talking about lol

I was a Red Wings fan before the Sharks came to SJ. So I can't help but have a soft spot for them. I'm not saying Detroit is a juggernaut. I just think they get crapped on more than they should. I really don't know why?

Not sure what you're looking at, but Ottawa's roster is incredibly mediocre and thin, and Buffalo continues to underwhelm every year.

This is barely half of Detroit's finished product and they will likely finish near them in the standings, at the least.

BUF is way ahead of both. But I wouldn't go around poking the bear with wild guarantees

I get being excited about acquiring a player via trade or UFA. I was happy for Ottawa fans at the time getting Cat. But I knew he wouldn't re-sign there long term. Many fans thought this too.

But I think it's hilarious that Yzerman trades for him and it's like meh. Detroit still sucks. Double standard. Fans ripped Yzerman when he was gutting the team after Kenny Holland ran the team into the ground. "Why doesn't he spend money on UFA's? Where's the trades, Stevie?"

Then when he does make a big trade and spend money on UFA's it's "Yzerman is ruining the rebuild! What is he doing?"

Detroit has to overpay to get players to sign there, right? These players are placeholders until their young studs are NHL ready. Why can't fans understand this? 🤔

And his draft picks are always questioned? "Seider! Who's that! Horrible pick!". Those same clowns a year later were saying "well Seider was a no brainer. Easy to make that pick." You guys didn't even know who he was! 🤣

Damned if he does. Damned if he don't. Yzerman is clearly building this team for 3-4 years from now. But the casual hockey fans don't get it. Why?

Because they don't want to get it. It's much easier (lazier) to just write them off and say they suck. Hence the strawman statements made by the OP.