By George B. Eichorn
Don’t look now but the fortunes of Detroit’s winter/spring teams have taken a definite turn – one negatively and another positively.
Let’s start with the Detroit Red Wings. Following a blistering 7-1 start on new head coach Todd McLellan’s watch and another 7-game winning streak which would follow, the Wings are tumbling badly.
Club president Steve Yzerman refused to make any “big” moves before last week’s NHL trading deadline despite having needs on defense and center. He did make a deal for old friend – 33-year-old goaltender Petr Mrazek – along with 35-year-old forward Chris Smith. The fact that Yzerman and team owner Christopher Ilitch didn’t pull the trigger on a big trade shows how much more roster work needs to be done.
The Wings have arguably the toughest remaining schedule of all the Eastern Conference wildcard challengers yet they dug a hole in losing six consecutive games to Anaheim, Minnesota, Columbus (2), Carolina, Utah, Washington and Ottawa. Only time and some winning hockey will salvage Detroit’s season. If not, make it 9 straight years without a sniff of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are playing winning basketball at Little Caesars Arena. The job Trajan Langdon, in his first season as president of basketball operations, has been nothing short of awesome. His hiring of head coach B.J. Bickerstaff and reshaping of the Pistons roster has – so far – been a hit. The Pistons find themselves in the thick of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs picture. Heck, they may not to have to play in the “play-in” portion of the postseason.
Remember that 6 teams from each of the two NBA conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage while those teams finishing 7 through 10 from each conference compete in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
The Pistons have hosted two playoff games since their move back downtown. That was a pair of first-round losses to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019. The Red Wings have zero post-season home games.It was good to hear the news Ilitch Sports and Entertainment and Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV) and FanDuel Sports Network have entered into a partnership resulting in 15 games, including 10 Tigers and five Red Wings games, being simulcast on the over-the-air channel in the coming months. The first Tigers game simulcast available on Fox 2 Detroit will be the Comerica Park home opener vs. the Chicago White Sox on Friday, April 4 … all 10 featured Tigers games will also air on FanDuel Sports Network.
The Tigers had a .500 record (8-8) in Lakeland at press time yet the injury bug is biting them. Outfielder/third baseman Matt Vierling, outfielder Park Meadows and pitchers Alex Cobb, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Alex Lange and Jose Urquidy are shelved.
The Lions jumped into the NFL 2025 free agency frenzy by signing several of their own players (Derrick Barnes, Marcus Davenport, Netane Muti, Dan Skipper, Ezekiel Turner) and a couple from other teams such as ex-Cardinals DT Roy Lopez and ex-Jets cornerback D.J. Reed. I am certain GM Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell will reel in several more free agents before the dust settles.
Reach George Eichorn at [email protected] or @Sandgsports99 on X (formerly Twitter). Order his book:
Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air: Eichorn, George B, Introduction Harwell, Ernie.
