Are the Detroit Red Wings in danger of becoming the 2024-25 version of the Sabres?

In 2022-23, the Detroit Red Wings and their division rival, the Buffalo Sabres, seemed to be taking similar but different paths in their respective rebuilds. General managers Steve Yzerman and Kevyn Adams both looked to build their prospect pools, but the former also wasn’t afraid to make the occasional blockbuster trade or free agent signing. 

Initially, it looked like Adams and the Sabres had the upper hand, with Buffalo finishing the 2022-23 campaign with 91 points and barely missing the playoffs. Oh, and they swept the Red Wings in the season series, setting the stage to bust through their playoff drought and leave Detroit with the league’s longest. 

Last season, the opposite happened, as the Sabres regressed into irrelevance, and the Red Wings nearly left Buffalo in the dust as far as playoff droughts go. The Wings got as close as a team could get, but they couldn’t control their destiny, which kept them out of the postseason. 

That said, everyone in Hockeytown saw a return to the playoffs in 2024-25, or at least that was the case until an atrocity or two plagued this team and they, well, look like a group that’s anything but ready to take the next step. The good news is that it’s only November, so taking a breath, and realizing that this season isn’t anywhere near over is a good place for the Wings to begin. 

The 2024-25 Red Wings cannot do what the Sabres did last season

The bad news is that the Wings, so far in 2024-25, resemble the 2023-24 Sabres in every way, shape, and form. They may have finally landed a decent goaltender, just as Buffalo did last season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but, also like the Sabres, scoring has been a luxury so far. 

Before the season began, it was unfathomable to think that, following last year, the Wings would find themselves in sixth place in the Atlantic and with a points total sitting under 0.500 by the end of October. Or, the fact that they’re averaging 2.7 goals per game, which has given them the lowest number of goals scored in the Atlantic Division and one of the lowest goals scored per. 

If there’s any major difference so far, it’s that the Sabres barely found a way to win three games in a row last season, and the Wings at least proved themselves capable of doing that. But right now, the similarities between the Wings of this year and the Sabres of yesteryear have mostly been uncanny. 

Yet, there is more good news, and it’s that the Wings can put those comparisons to sleep when the Sabres visit them tomorrow night in the Motor City. And who knows? Maybe this team has just had a tough time finding its game, and if that’s the case, they’re still well within reach of jumping right into the top three early this month.