This morning, Red Wings executives Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper visited Detroit Lions training camp in Allen Park, perhaps hoping some of the good vibes from the reigning NFC North champions would rub off as the Red Wings look to push back into the postseason themselves.  In keeping with time-honored hockey tradition, Draper avoided stepping on the Lion logo on the turf, artfully side-stepping a Lions logo on the turf,

It’s not the first time the Red Wings have expressed an organizational admiration for their local football team.  Coach Derek Lalonde visited camp last year and has expressed a repeated admiration for the way Lions coach Dan Campbell remade the culture around what had been a perennial NFL laughing stock.

“I just love his energy,” Lalonde said of Campbell last summer. “When I saw him, we had a good talk—talked about the season, he was asking about our season, talking about the time back in the day when he played here. Obviously the Wings had it rolling then. I yell at my kids for being on social media, and then I’m the one looking up Dan Campbell quotes at one in the morning…we had a good laugh.”

Hopefully, for Detroit fans, the Red Wings can replicate the success of their football-playing crosstown colleagues, as the Lions look to build on last year’s NFC Championship Game run.