TO CLOSE

January 12, 2019 marked 1,000 days since a professional Detroit sports team had won a playoff game, the worst period of such futility since 1978-84.
Detroit Free Press

The calendar tells us that we have 30 days left in winter. It's 30 days of gray and gray, interspersed with snow, ice and fear that another polar vortex can provoke.

Yes, there is nothing hot in Detroit these days. No time. And certainly not the sports teams, because the only thing more depressing than the current schedule is the seasonal calendar of each of the four professional Detroit teams.

The question is: who will put an end to our misery? Which team will be involved and be the next to hoist a championship trophy?

When my colleagues in the free press and I recently decided to try to figure out which of our four professional sports teams would be the next to win a title, two events occurred. We all suffered slight concussions (always avoid putting heads together) and the consensus choice was the Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin before the Los Angeles Kings game at Little Caesars Arena on December 10, 2018 (Photo11: Fuller Tim, USA TODAY Sports)

Four of the six writers in the gallery agreed that the Wings would be the next champions of our city.

Wies Editor-in-Chief Helene St. James noted that Dylan Larkin was at the forefront of a solid core under reconstruction, with another choice of high-end draft planned for this summer.

More on the wings: Dylan Larkin remains the brightest star of Wings in the black season

Columnist Jeff Seidel said that if the prospects grow and contribute and the team reaches the playoffs, any team could become hot and win everything.

Pistons beat writer Vince Ellis noted the unpredictability of the NHL and baseball playoffs and signaled the Wings to dominate the Tigers.

Detroit Lions General Manager Bob Quinn, right, and owner, Martha Firestone Ford, head to the press conference of head coach Matt Patricia on Thursday, May 10, 2018, at Allen Park. (Photo11: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

I noted the recent pedigree of the Wings Championship, the ongoing reconstruction and the possible return of Steve Yzerman to the franchise are the reasons why the Wings could bring the equipment home within five years.

According to writer Dave Birkett of the Lions, the Tigers have more hope of winning a world series thanks to a complete demolition, a good writing and fast signatures with autonomous agents.

More: The reconstruction of the tigers is going in the right direction, but no end is in sight

Tigers defeated writer Anthony Fenech qualified for the draw for the end, while highlighting the depressing nature of the exercise – and he is currently in Florida.

Readers agreed with us four. The first online votes on the IPNet.com site also helped the Wings to be successful.

Access to the survey for mobile users.

Chris Ilitch, President and CEO of the Red Wings, will speak before the NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, October 11, 2018 in Detroit. Ilitch announced that the Red Wings would pull No. 4 in the honor of former Red Kelly player. (Photo11: Paul Sancya, AP)

But before coming back to the Wings, I would like to give an ovation to the NFL. Only one of our writers (you will never guess who) ranked the Lions as the only team in fourth place.

In addition, thanks to the anticipated online vote, the Lions were ahead of the Wings.

The Lions. The team, which has not won a playoff game for more than 9,900 days, has not won a division title since 1993, has never been to the Super Bowl and whose last championship has hardly been retained by the septuagenarian.

Yes, lions. The team that has just experienced a train accident of a season and who could do a cleaning of the house if things go wrong in 2019. The fact that I'm the only one to have ranked in the last row shows to what point the NFL has done a remarkable job. create a system that gives hope to its fans every year. Bravo!

Steve Yzerman lifted the Stanley Cup after the Red Wings defeated the Philadelphia Flyers on June 7, 1997 at the Joe Louis Arena. (Photo11: Mary Schroeder, Free Press Special)

In general, I agree that the NFL offers the best chance of quick turnaround. But I ranked the Wings, Pistons and Tigers in front of the Lions because they all had recent series of excellence. They have all played or won the championship series since 2004 and have all won a division title since 2008.

It is true that these three teams did it under different owners. Chris Ilitch was not at the bar very long for the Wings and the Tigers, and Tom Gores still has miles to go before he can talk about Bill Davidson in the same breath. Conversely, it is the constancy of Ford family ownership that has been a big part of the Lions problem.

I like the fact that the Pistons have a proven head coach at Dwane Casey with an undisputed star and a leader at Blake Griffin. And with LeBron James absent from the Eastern Conference, the Pistons do not feel so far away from giving Griffin a better cast. Let's not forget that the 2004 Goin & # 39; to Work title team was mostly made up of people before they arrived in Detroit and that Larry Brown made the most of it.

Detroit Pistons striker Blake Griffin kills in the first period against the Washington Wizards on Monday, February 11, 2019 in Detroit. (Photo11: Carlos Osorio, AP)

It is almost impossible to predict what will be the Tigers and when they will be. Baseball reconstruction is the worst of any league. Basically, you want your star players to do very well to be sold. Instead of a good record, what would mark the success of the Tigers in the coming seasons would be: the opportunity to exchange stars like Jordan Zimmermann and Miguel Cabrera.

But the wings are different. This is a young team that has shown resilience this season and everything in this franchise is intended to remind players and employees of its recent and historic championship pedigree. If Yzerman comes back, hopefully this summer, to the position of general manager or equivalent, that would be the piece that would get the Wings up.

Now, can anyone remind me how many days we have left until spring?

Contact Carlos Monarrez at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.