Sometimes, when you're a Detroit Red Wings fan, you can't help but laugh.
The year the Red Wings finally looked legit, the rest of the division decided to play like their lives depended on it. The moment the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs had an off year, every other team from the Buffalo Sabres to the Montreal Canadiens decided it was time to turn the Atlantic Division into a bloodbath.
Had the Red Wings played in the Western Conference, their 92-point campaign would have guaranteed them a playoff spot. If they were in the Pacific, they would've been the three seed.
To add insult to injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, guaranteeing them the first overall pick.
Detroit's road to the playoffs just got a lot bumpier.
What Toronto's lottery win means for the Atlantic Division
Here's a preview of the Atlantic Division next season:
- Florida Panthers: Back-to-back Stanley Cup champions rested and ready to reclaim the throne.
- Tampa Bay Lightning: Despite another first-round exit, they're just as lethal as they've always been.
- Montreal Canadiens: A young, deep roster that just won a playoff series.
- Buffalo Sabres: The same as Montreal but they also won the Atlantic in 2025-26.
- Ottawa Senators: Despite their embarrassing performance against Carolina, they still have one of the best young cores in the league.
- Boston Bruins: A team that seems completely incapable of ever regressing.
- Toronto Maple Leafs: A well-rested Auston Matthews, a surefire shot at Gavin McKenna and all the goodwill in the world.
Then you have Detroit.
Sometimes, it feels like this division was designed to specifically torment Red Wings fans. While a 93-point season all but guarantees you the top spot in the Pacific, it dooms anyone in the Atlantic to the outside looking in. The Red Wings were 16th in total points this season. Two teams - the Anaheim Ducks and Utah Mammoth - were below them in points and still got a playoff spot.
It's unfair, but it's out of Detroit's control at this point.
What the Red Wings can do about this
The road diverges for the Red Wings in two diametrically different paths. At this point in the rebuild, it's sink or swim. They can either make a bigtime move this offseason to make the team legit, or they can throw in the towel and commit to a longer timeline without the playoffs. The latter is extremely frustrating. The former is incredibly risky. Still, general manager Steve Yzerman needs to do something -- after all, his job quite literally depends on it.
There are, of course, plenty of exciting trade candidates that the team can make their move on. It just depends on how they value their prospects, which they see as long-term fits and what Yzerman is comfortable moving.
Either way, the Atlantic is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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