Fellow Wings fans, for the second year in a row our team is not taking part in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Tuesday, while the Wings are clearing out their lockers at Little Caesars Arena, sixteen other teams will be preparing for their first round match-ups.

Since our staff is not just Red Wings fans, but hockey fans in general, we’ll all be eagerly watching to see if the Golden Knights can make history or the Capitals can make it past the second round. We’ve all filled out brackets and we’re opening up our WingsNation.com bracket challenge to all of our readers! Prove to the WingsNation community that you can best predict the winners of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

To enter your bracket into the WingsNation Bracket Challenge, click here. The playoffs start on Wednesday, so make sure to have your bracket submitted before then. It’s completely free to enter.

Of course, no friendly competition is fun unless there’s a prize* involved, so I’ll be sending the winning bracket a signed copy of Keith Gave’s new book “The Russian Five: A Story of Espionage, Defection, Bribery and Courage“!

The Wings may not be in it, but that doesn’t mean that we, as a community, can’t enjoy the playoffs together! Let us know which team your cheering for in the comments and why you think they should win.

We’ll be back at the end of every round to give you an update on the progress of your bracket. Happy picking!