Where do the Detroit Red Wings go from here?

When the Detroit Red Wings entered this season new head coach Derek Lalonde did everything to temper expectations. 

He downplayed any talk of the postseason, was focused on the small details and building something long-term. Even when Detroit was above the playoff cut line at various times during the season, Lalonde was one of the first to bring expectations back to earth. 

The message was then further pushed by GM Steve Yzerman, who at the trade deadline made it clear this wasn’t the year. 

Detroit traded Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins, Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks, Oskar Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild, and Jakub Vrána to the St. Louis Blues before the deadline. 

All of the deals for future draft capital, all of them Yzerman said in a rare media availability, were part of Detro