Happy Thanksgiving! Many of you will be spending your day celebrating the best of life with family, food and fun - and the best of life includes hockey. So, on this Thanksgiving Day, we here at WIIM would like to spend a little time sharing what the Red Wings have us thankful for so far this season.

Sara

What I’m Thankful For

The part of the Red Wings I’m most thankful for this year, to no one’s surprise, is Henrik Zetterberg. How many times has he had to stand with the media crowded around him and answer the same dumb questions? Somehow he has neither dissolved into nonstop eye rolling and flippant answers nor completely shut down into giving perfectly scripted answers like a Zetterbot.

Thank you Hank, for still being great at hockey, great at teaching, and great at finding the right angles for your hat to shadow your eyes when you’re annoyed during postgame interviews.

Part of Thanksgiving

The Dad (or whoever cooks in your family) - he takes all the ingredients and works with them until they are perfectly combined and exactly as seasoned as they need to be. When anything goes wrong, he shoulders the blame. And when your aunt criticizes everything on the table he bears it silently. Thanks, Zetterdad.

J.J.

What I’m Thankful For

I'm thankful for the Athanasiou-Larkin-Mantha line. While it's a work in progress, it's finally a promising step in the direction of putting together three exciting young kids who should be able to grow together. Every game they've played together so far I've found myself waiting for their next shift just to see what would happen once they get out their. The speed and aggression is a welcome change and I'm kind of proud to see Blashill at least trying this.

Part of Thanksgiving

The Kids Table - You have a feeling they're all pushed together to get out of the adults' way, but the truth of the matter is that the kids table at any Thanksgiving gathering is always (and I mean ALWAYS) where you'll find the most fun.

Rob H.

What I’m Thankful For

I am thankful for the young future of this team. Not just the ones leading the team in scoring right now but the ones yet to make the roster. Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov along with Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou gives the Red Wings a very promising potential top to their forwards. Add in Dennis Cholowski, Vili Saarijarvi, Joe Hicketts and Filip Hronek on the blue line and Keith Petruzzeli in goal and the future may not be as bleak as we thought a couple seasons ago.

Part of Thanksgiving

The annual tackle football game in the morning. It never really matter how cold, rainy or sometimes even snowy it was, we always played. Sometimes you won, sometimes you lost. But you always had a blast.

Mike B.

What I’m Thankful For

I'm thankful for Marty Frk on the powerplay. This team is just more fun to watch when he is on the ice with the man advantage, and after last season being such a buzz kill, I'm all in for having fun. The way he winds up at the top of the circle and drops down on one knee, doing his best Brett Hull impression, is so dramatic and cool. He gives the game some razzle dazzle, you know?

Part of Thanksgiving

Cranberry pie. I will shoulder-check my uncle to get some cranberry pie on Thanksgiving if I have to, and I won't even feel bad about it. Also, I'm thankful for my uncle; he's a great dude.

Peter F.

What I’m Thankful For

I am thankful for the rays of light in what could be a fairly dark season. Dylan Larkin showed in the mic'd up segment from last game that he is really trying to grow as not only a player, but a leader. We will have a leadership vacuum in the future when Zetterberg hangs up his skates, and it's great to see Larkin starting to step up to fill that void. The Athanasiou contract situation was demoralizing for me as a fan, but he's done everything right since he came back, and he's being rewarded with more ice time and more responsibility. The optimist in me will always focus on the bright spots, and thankfully there are a good amount of them to choose from.

Part of Thanksgiving

It's going to be corny, but being with family. My wife had a very hard year, with both her parents nearly dying before her mother died a few months ago. It's going to be nice to be able to get together with her father and her brother and share happy memories. You can never keep the bad things from happening, but you can create good memories to outweigh the hurt and loss, so I look forward to doing that.

John C.

What I’m Thankful For

I'm thankful for the fact that this 2017-18 Red Wings' team has been much more enjoyable to watch, for the most part. There was so much cynicism and doubt surrounding the team heading into this season (some rightfully justified) so it's been a pleasant surprise to see them at least hang in there, show improvement, and play some exciting games.

Can they continue to keep on playing this way and possibly push for a playoff spot over the next sixty games? Maybe yes, maybe no. As for now, I'm grateful for the way things have panned out thus far. The kids are maturing and starting to carry more of the load/responsibilities, Jimmy has been solid between the pipes, and the special teams play has been productive.

Part of Thanksgiving

Like Peter, it's the family get together for me. Throughout most of the year it's not always the perfect or most ideal unit but when it matters, we can at least rally to make some lasting and fun memories. It can be easy to judge, criticize, and mock one another at times but when the going gets tough you know that you have a support system to help you through - and sometimes a gritty little cousin with a big beard to throw hands if ever need be.

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What are you thankful for this Red Wings season? Let us know in the comments!

From the WIIM family to yours, we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, safe travels, and we’ll see you back here on Friday for Wings @ Rangers!

And to you hardcore shoppers, watch some Athanasiou highlights to prepare for the rush, but you will have to get a bit Gordie if you want to beat Susan to that last pressure cooker.