Red Wings want to give GM Yzerman “something to think about”

While the Detroit Red Wings certainly have made certain improvements on the ice this season as opposed to the last several years, there remain several issues yet to be resolved - not the least of which is their tendency to continue falling behind their opponent on the scoreboard by several goals before mounting a comeback effort, along with an extremely confusing near inability to put together a 60-minute effort against teams they should have no problem beating. 

With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching just over one month from now, the Red Wings find themselves once again on the outside looking in on the current postseason standings, leaving fans to wonder if they'll continue their actions of the past several years in being a seller to other teams looking to make extended postseason pushes. 

However, if the players on the roster have their way, they want to make sure that everyone in the dressing room remains in place to go on an extended run of their own and give general manger Steve Yzerman reason to pause before making a deal that would jettison a popular member of the playing roster out of town.

"We have to get our rest, get refocused, get reenergized to come back for a big push before the deadline," said veteran forward David Perron, "and give Steve something to think about."

"We’re playing good hockey, we just don’t always find results," Perron continued. "If we keep playing mature hockey, we are making strides forward. It’s good to play good hockey, but we need results."

"I hope that we can remain together and see it through and give it all we’ve got," captain Dylan Larkin said, who is in the midst of contract negotiations with Yzerman, said. "We haven’t been able to do that in many years, but that’s my hope, to see this thing through and to stay in it and make going to the rink meaningful every day going down the stretch."

The Red Wings certainly haven't been aided by the long-term absences of the likes of Jakub Vrana and Tyler Bertuzzi, both of whom were slated to make considerable impacts in their offensive attack. Meanwhile, they continue to be prone to maddening defensive breakdowns.

Can they break through and put together a five or even six game winning streak after the All-Star break and make up ground in the Wild Card chase?