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Mike Babcock (center) was hired as coach of the Detroit Red Wings by general manager Ken Holland (left) and owner Mike Ilitch in 2005.

(AP File Photo)

If ESPN.com is correct, the future is bright for the Detroit Red Wings.

Very bright, in fact.

ESPN has the Red Wing No. 2 in its inaugural NHL Future Power Rankings, which try to project how well teams will do over the next three seasons. A panel of six considered four factors – roster, prospects, salary cap/contracts and owner/general manager/coach – before arriving at a final score based on the average in each category.

Each category was weighted before the average was tabulated. The current roster was worth 35 percent, the prospects counted for 25 percent and the other two categories were good for 20 percent apiece.

Teams were graded on a scale of 1-10 in each category and the Red Wings' average was 7.43, leaving them behind the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks (7.61) and directly ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (7.24).

For those who many have forgotten already, Chicago won the Presidents' Trophy last season as regular-season champion and Pittsburgh finished first overall in the Eastern Conference.

So the Red Wings are obviously among some pretty elite company in ESPN.com's rankings.

The Red Wings' highest score came courtesy of owner Mike Ilitch, GM Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock. They received a 9.5 in the owner/GM/coach category.

The Red Wings got an 8.17 for their prospects – the Grand Rapids Griffins, their AHL affiliate, won the 2013 Calder Cup and are loaded again this season – and Detroit got a 7.0 for its current roster.

The Red Wings' weakest showing was in the cap/contract department, where they scored 5.17.

The Boston Bruins (6.87) and Montreal Canadiens (6.78) round out the top five.

At the bottom of the pile ranked No. 30 are the Calgary Flames, with a score of 4.36.