After nine years without Stanley Cup playoff hockey, most fans of the Detroit Red Wings have become realists. That's because, heading into the 2025-26 regular season, it's apparent to many of them that the Red Wings have little chance of securing a playoff berth.
The moves Wings GM Steve Yzerman has made this summer are leading many to expect more out of Detroit this year. But, when you consider all the things that need to go right for the Red Wings to even be in the conversation for a playoff spot, it becomes clearer why the Wings are a smart bet to once again miss the post-season.
Sportsbook BetMGM has set the odds for Detroit to miss the playoffs at 1.33 (-300) and 3.30 (+230) to make the post-season.
As part of the hyper-competitive Atlantic Division, the Red Wings are going to have to unseat one of the five teams that earned a playoff berth last season – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
While it's possible one of those teams can take a step backward, the reality is that they are strong teams. And that’s to say nothing of the two other teams in the Atlantic – the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres – who also are desperate to make the playoffs this year. The competition for a playoff berth is ferocious, and the Red Wings may not have the horses to get into the post-season.
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Compounding matters for the Wings is another fact – namely, that the Metropolitan Division will also be more competitive this season. The Metro – which sent only three teams to the playoffs last year – could send four teams to the playoffs next season.
That would leave only four playoff spots for Atlantic teams. And that would mean Detroit’s fight for a playoff berth will be a task all the more mountainous.
Another thing that has to go right for the Red Wings this coming year is their health. Last season, 10 of Detroit’s top-11 point-producers played at least 70 games. Only center Andrew Copp, who appeared in 56 games last year, and that should be a sobering thought indeed for Wings fans.
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If the injury bug takes a big bite out of Detroit’s roster, the Red Wings don’t have nearly enough depth to keep them in the mix for a playoff spot. Even if newcomer goalie John Gibson performs well, he’s got an injury history that doesn’t make you confident he’ll be a workhorse who appears in 50-60 games this season.
Lastly, in addition to their team health and the teams around the Wings opening up a playoff spot for them to get hold of, Detroit needs Yzerman to spend his team’s salary cap space on a difference-maker.
The Red Wings currently have $11.9 million in cap space, and that rightly puts a ton of pressure on Yzerman to, at last, land a big fish that can help elevate Detroit’s all-around game.
However, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to do that. And if Yzerman can’t find a trade partner prepared to give up a needle-moving talent, the Red Wings’ cap space will go unused and, in many people’s minds, wasted.
Do you see what we’re getting at here? Detroit needs just about everything to go exactly according to plan – something that never happens. If the Lightning, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Canadiens and Senators all live up to expectations, there’s simply no room for the Red Wings to get into the playoffs.
If any of Detroit’s key players are sidelined for a significant period of time with injuries, there’s not enough NHL-caliber talent on the roster to rise to the occasion.
Furthermore, if the Wings can’t bring in a difference-maker via trade, there’s not enough high-end skill to carry them into the post-season. It all adds up to a bleak picture for the Red Wings.
We’re not trying to tell you there’s nothing to like about the Red Wings. They’ve got some young players who will be above-average players for the next 10 years or longer, including right winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider.
But when there are so many potential pitfalls in the road ahead for them this season, it’s small wonder most pundits aren’t picking the Wings as a playoff team. Too many things can go wrong for them, and by the time the regular season ends, Detroit could see its playoff drought extended to a full decade.
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