True and for us to be an elite contender we need it to improve, though Smith and DeKeyser continuing to develop is a big deal.
But the point still stands we are not bottom 10 in the league like often trotted out around here. We haven't had a d-core at our worst that isn't better than what the Leafs have had for a decade plus now.
It went from something our team could rely on to being very pedestrian. Definitely not bottom 10. Consider teams like Edmonton, Florida, Buffalo, Carolina, Toronto, NYI, Dallas, Columbus, etc. more than 12-24 months ago. Teams like Islanders (Boychuk, Leddy, prospects), Florida (vet UFAs, prospects), Columbus (J. Johnson, prospects), etc. are starting to get better now that they've made moves and gotten high end draft picks, but yeah. Detroit, even without Lidstrom, is way better off than those groups in terms of D over the last few years (and beyond).
I'd say Detroit is right in the middle of the pack. Growth from young NHLers and prospects hitting ceilings could get us back in the top 10 discussion, for sure.