NHL betting picks, odds: The Red Wings are worth a long-shot bet

There has been plenty of funkiness to go around to start the new NHL season, but no team has had a more bizarre first month than the Red Wings.HockeyTown was shocked in the summer when its captain, and Michigan lifer, Dylan Larkin, requested a trade midway through an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that carried a full no-movement clause.Larkin initially gave the Wings three teams he’d accept a trade to and, unsurprisingly, no deal was consummated.Larkin eventually expanded his list to 10 teams, reported to training camp injured, got booed during his introduction at the home opener and then joined the team only to desert them again after playing 10 games.He’ll sit out until the Wings trade him.Oh, and he’s not the only Red Wing holding out.Simon Edvinsson, a terrific 23-year-old defenseman, is also not with the team because he could never agree to terms on a new contract.As a restricted free agent, Edvinsson has until Dec.

1 to sign a deal, or he will need to sit out the entire 2026-27 campaign.But wait, there’s more.The team spent a lot of this franchise-altering summer without a general manager.Steve Yzerman was stood down from the post, in part for his handling of the Larkin situation, and Detroit never announced a replacement.It was not until Sept.

15 that Shawn Horcoff was named interim GM, left to clean up a right mess.As you’d expect, the Red Wings have not been a picture of consistency on the ice.Detroit is 7-8-3, mired in a three-game losing streak and boasts a minus-7 goal difference.The Wings are just three points out of a playoff spot, but they’re also three points from last place in the Eastern Conference.In a vacuum, that seems like a pretty underwhelming start to the campaign, but when you bake in the context of the Wings’ circumstances, it’s pretty darn impressive that Detroit isn’t where Vancouver, Chicago and Philadelphia are sitting as we head into the second quarter of the campaign.

The Wings are in the mix.And there are si...