DETROIT | The Red Wings have an optional practice this Wednesday morning at their practice facility at Little Caesars Arena. David Perron decided not to take part and sought treatment from doctors.
Despite his absence from the ice, Perron agreed to meet the author of these lines at approximately 11:00 a.m. He’s not there at lunchtime yet.
At around 12:30 p.m. the door to the Red Wings’ majestic locker room finally opens. Perron goes out with the team’s publicist.
“I apologize for the delay,” he says at the beginning. “I was having trouble with my Waze this morning, there were some road exits and heavy traffic.” »
Perron has a smile on his face. There were no traffic jams in the city once known for cars. He simply referred to Martin St-Louis’ analogy to describe the development of Juraj Slafkovsky.
“I thought it was a great picture,” Number 57 continued. “I really like the way he talks to the media.” He finds everyday examples to describe aspects of hockey. Even though I’m far from Quebec, I still have my eye on the Canadian. And I take the time to listen to Martin’s big interviews again, for example with Guy A. Lepage on Tout le monde en parole or on the radio with Paul Arcand. »
Nothing since 2016
Perron sat in a suite across from the Wings’ locker room for no more than 20 minutes to talk about St-Louis, Slafkovsky or the CH. It was simply an anecdote.
As boxes were moved to prepare the room for British group Depeche Mode’s show that evening, the 36-year-old winger painted a very precise portrait of his own team, the Red Wings.
“There is a desire to get out of this reconstruction,” Perron noted. The Red Wings’ level has fallen for several years. But reconstruction must now go in the other direction. What does that mean ? Is this a participation in the series? I hope so, especially at my age. But we clearly want to fight until the end and play meaningful games. We have to take a big step as an organization. »
The Wings, previously considered a model of consistency, have not participated in the playoffs since 2016. There is a dry spell of seven seasons.
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At the start of the season they are showing signs of a team that wants to stay afloat. They are 7-5-1. Captain Dylan Larkin is running at a good pace with 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 13 games, Alex DeBrincat has revitalized this attack with 9 goals already and Moritz Seider serves as the general of the blue line.
“Yes, there is pressure to win,” admitted head coach Derek Lalonde. But we will be fighting with several teams in the Atlantic who also want to get out of a rebuild. I look at the Canadian team, it’s a team that’s still building, but there are players who can keep up with our team. The Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabers also want to improve and climb the table. »
An active CEO
Before the season began, Steve Yzerman took concrete steps to speed up the Wings’ rebuilding process. He sacrificed a first-round pick in a trade for DeBrincat with the Senators, offering center JT Compher a five-year contract, defenseman Justin Holl a three-year contract, and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and winger Daniel Sprong a one-year contract.
The Wings general manager also joined the CH to sign Jeff Petry. Yzerman received several criticisms. He was accused of deviating from the plan and stepping on the accelerator too hard.
“To tell you the truth, Yzerman surprised me a little bit this summer, especially with the acquisition of DeBrincat,” Perron said. Compher helps us a lot, he can play many roles offensively and has already won with the Avalanche. I didn’t expect the Wings to face the Sens, two teams in the same division. But DeBrincat had a short list of teams he wanted to play on. We took advantage of it. A CEO has no choice but to want to improve his team. He can’t just wait in his office. »
The Wings still have a first-round pick in 2024 with the Boston Bruins, whom they acquired in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade last March.