No NHL players think the Detroit Red Wings are interesting, worth watching

Given their no-good season, it’s little surprise that none of their colleagues in the NHL think the Detroit Red Wings are deserving of any recognition.

Except for their home. Little Caesars Arena did get a measure of love.

The NHL Players' Association, doing its part to distract while the league is on pause to fight the spread of coronavirus, released its 2019-20 poll Tuesday.

The players' association conducted an anonymous 20-question survey with players from each of the 31 clubs; 588 players participated. They were asked who they would want as a teammate for a winner-take-all game, and about the dress code.

The Wings (17-49-5) had just ensured a last-place finish when the league suspended the season March 12. Their minus-122 goal-differential is the worst in the league by more than double (Ottawa checks in next at minus-52).

When it comes to plus-minus ratings in the NHL, Wings players occupy eight of the worst 15 spots, with Valtteri Filppula at minus-42 and Filip Hronek next at minus-38. (The worst in the league is Andreas Athanasiou, who was traded to Edmonton Feb. 24 and sits at minus-46. Fourth-worst is Mike Green, also now with Edmonton, who checks in at minus-34).

More: The best and worst Red Wings of the 2019-20 season: Our awards

Dylan Larkin leads the Wings with 53 points in 71 games; that doesn’t even put him in the top 60 among league scorers.

So who did players like? Edmonton’s Connor McDavid was voted best forward (63.35% to 14.93% for runner-up Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh). Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman was voted the best defenseman (37.88%), and Montreal’s Carey Price took best goaltending (41.55%).

Asked whom they would choose if they needed to win one game, Crosby received 44.03% of the votes to McDavid’s 30.53%. Crosby also was voted the most complete player (45.56%).

Considering their rich alumni base — Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, among others — it’s a bit surprising the Wings didn’t get even a mention when asked “of all players past or present, who would you pay to see play?”

The winners were Wayne Gretzky (31.83%), Bobby Orr (14.99%), Mario Lemieux (9.24%) and McDavid (7.80%).

Players voted overwhelmingly in favor of relaxing game-day dress codes that require they wear suits, with the yes vote coming in at 73%.

Ex-Wings forward Tomas Tatar won best nickname (Tuna), getting 8.08% of the vote, narrowly topping David “Pasta” Pastrnak (7.31%).

More on NHL: Wings will have to wait on draft placement, with NHL postponing lottery

The one category the Wings did fare well in was best visitors dressing room, where LCA finished third (23.3%), behind Edmonton’s Rogers Place (38.01%) and Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena (26.47%).

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.