It's a new day for the Detroit Red Wings, who made several key offseason acquisitions courtesy of general manager Steve Yzerman as he continues his work in building the team back into contending status. Of course, the question at the forefront of the minds of the fan base is when they can expect a return to the postseason for the first time since 2016 after 25 consecutive trips to the annual tournament. 

The Red Wings aren't getting too much optimism of being on the inside looking out of the 2023 postseason, with nearly every prediction stating that while they'll make strides on the ice, they'll have to wait at least one more year to be considered a playoff team. So, what do members of the team think? 

“I hope things are trending in the right direction,” Detroit GM Steve Yzerman said. “I expect them to. Being able to add some free agents to address some needs, I think that makes us a deeper team. I think it makes us a better team.”

“I think we’re seeing some progress,” Yzerman continued. “I believe in the way we’re doing it and I think we’re gonna improve. I’m hopeful that we are a better team this year.

“I say that very cautiously, because we all make these moves with the idea to be better. Sometimes it’s just not a linear path. But I expect us to be better.”

For new head coach Derek Lalonde, the season will be considered a success if they're able to improve on the back end and in net. 

“A successful season would look like us improving our team defense,” Lalonde said. “Keeping it out of our net and playing meaningful, significant games late in the season.

“Not far off from where these guys were in the middle of last year. We’d like to extend that to later in the year.”

However, he stopped short of declaring qualifying for the postseason a successful year, considering the fact that it would take a 26 point improvement from last year's 76 points to earn the very last berth based on the final standings of last season.

“I don’t mean to be pessimistic on the word playoffs,” Lalonde said. “It’s more of a credit to the Eastern Conference, (that) 100 points was (needed) to make the playoffs last year.”