The Detroit Red Wings entered Saturday’s contest against the New Jersey Devils with their playoff hopes on the line. The Wings had to win to stay alive.
But the combination of a 3-0 win by the Ottawa Senators over the New York Islanders, and the Red Wings’ 5-3 loss at home, drove the final dagger into Detroit’s playoff aspirations.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the home crowd at Little Caesars Arena rained boos on the Red Wings. The clock ran out, and the home team sought refuge in the locker room, amid another missed playoff appearance.
Wings got booed off the ice after being eliminated 😳 pic.twitter.com/9sWBqWyqgv
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 11, 2026
So, what’s next for the Red Wings?
The club now officially holds the longest playoff drought in the NHL. That situation was pretty much a fait accompli when the Buffalo Sabres clinched their playoff berth earlier this season. The Sabres stopped their playoff drought at 14 seasons.
Unfortunately, the Red Wings are not far behind with 10 seasons. And at the rate things are going, it might take a couple of more seasons before the Red Wings finally get over the hump.
That “hump” is the annual tradition known as March Sadness. It seems like every season, the Red Wings’ season circles the drain during the month of March. This year was no exception.
Detroit started the year 8-4-0, had a pedestrian November going 5-7-2, but then turned up the heat in December going 11-3-1. Leading up to the Olympics, the Wings cooled off a bit, but still managed an 8-4-3 in January.
But when March rolled around, it was an awful 5-7-2, followed by a 2-3-1 April. That was it. The Atlantic Division was jam-packed the entire season. And so, the playoff spots were going to be decided by whoever blinked first.
That was the Red Wings. The momentum they had in December and January went by the wayside.
That situation will now likely prompt management to go back to the drawing board. The main task will be to determine what the team can do to avoid another collapse next March.
Red Wings will have multiple issues to address this offseason
The Red Wings will have multiple issues to address this offseason.
The most evident issue will be scoring. The top guys picked up the slack for the team. But it’s the depth scoring that will need a boost. Players like Marco Kasper, who were counted on to support top scorers Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond, were an utter disappointment this season.
The same goes for scoring from the blueline. Beyond Moritz Seider, there was just no offensive support.
That brings us to the matter of goaltending. John Gibson ended up with a remarkable turnaround after looking like a lame duck at the beginning of the season. But he’ll need more support behind him. Cam Talbot will be a UFA this summer and won’t likely be back. The Red Wings will likely turn to prospect Sebastian Cossa for help on that front.
Lastly, there’s the issue of depth. As we’ve highlighted, there really wasn’t much scored behind the top three team leaders. Andrew Copp had a bit of a bounce-back year, though it wasn’t enough to make a real contribution to the team.
Patrick Kane had a decent season, defensive lapses and all. However, he missed some time with injuries, and, well, there’s no telling if he’s ready to hang them up.
Beyond that, everyone else was a dud to one degree or another. It’s too bad because the Red Wings really had a talented roster on paper to start the season. The potential didn’t quite materialize.
That’s why this offseason will end up becoming a time for soul-searching. Red Wings fans shouldn’t be surprised to see some major changes unless Steve Yzerman chooses to run it back for one more year.