"that's Who We Are": Red Wings Coach Todd Mclellan's Directive Ahead Of Season Opener

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Regardless of the outside noise and uncertainty surrounding the organization, the Detroit Red Wings still have business to take care of.

Detroit will host the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on Friday evening, officially opening its 101st NHL season. However, the Red Wings will be without two key pieces of their lineup.

Forward Dylan Larkin will miss Detroit's first two games while recovering from an off-ice training injury, while unsigned RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson has returned to his native Sweden amid a contract stalemate.

But the NHL schedule doesn't stop for injuries or contract disputes.

Despite the challenges they're facing, the Red Wings will enter the season with the pride that comes with being the winningest American-based NHL franchise and an Original Six club.

"We're the Detroit Red Wings, and that means something," said head coach Todd McLellan, who has his name on the Stanley Cup as a Red Wings assistant coach in 2008. "We are an Original Six team; we have a lot of stuff going on around us, but we're still the Detroit Red Wings.

And if it doesn't mean anything to me, or to the players in the locker room, or the trainers, or anyone else in the organization, then shame on them. They shouldn't be part of it."

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Pride can only go so far, as the Red Wings cannot rest on laurels. 

They currently own the NHL's longest postseason drought at 10 years, which is also the longest in franchise history.

Despite having several top-notch talents, questions remain about whether this is finally the group that can get over the hump, especially after three straight March collapses. Larkin's situation remains unresolved, as is Edvinsson's.

Additionally, the Red Wings' executive leadership situation remains unsettled.

However, with a full regular season ahead, Detroit has no choice but to move forward and hope to recapture some of the magic that makes being a part of the Red Wings so special.

"We've got work to do; we know who we are, we know what we have to do, and things we have to overcome," McLellan said. "But we are the Detroit Red Wings, and that means something. 

And we're going to approach it that way all year." 

Younger generations of Red Wings fans have yet to experience the championship-level success the franchise once enjoyed.

With one eye on the past and the other on the future, it's up to the current crop of Red Wings to pull the club out of its prolonged slump and back into the NHL's upper echelon.

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