Most Red Wings fans would say this is the year where something could finally come to life. With everyone focusing on the Detroit Lions, who finished their year in a heartbreaking loss to the San Francisco 49ers for a chance to go to the Super Bowl, not many people noticed the Red Wings were also in a playoff race of their own. The Pistons who could have the number one pick in the NBA Draft and the Tigers who look like they could make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, have also gotten way more attention. With everything going on, lots of people have forgotten about the Detroit Red Wings.
Of all the professional sports teams in Michigan, it’s fair to say that the Red Wings might be the best. Starting off in September of 1926, the Red Wings were known as the Detroit Cougars. In 1942, the NHL League started with the original six, which was formed by not only the Detroit Red Wings but also the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. Since, the Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cups which is only behind the Maple Leafs (24) and the Canadiens (13). But with 26 new teams added to the league, the quest of getting another cup has got even harder for Detroit.
Now with 32 teams instead of six, the NHL has made a 16 team playoff format where the top half of the NHL’s teams get in the playoffs while the bottom half’s season comes to an end. The way the playoffs work in the NHL is by points rather than wins. A team collects two points if they win, one if they lose in overtime or in a shootout and 0 if they lose in regulation. The Red Wings have seen their total points go up every year since they started their long and dreadful rebuild. Now the Red Wings are tied for the final playoff spot with the Washington Capitals and hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in seven years to try to get back to becoming a dominant team like they used to be.
Just a few years ago back in the 2019-2020 NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings decided to rebuild their whole team. The results were terrible. The Red Wings went off to become one of the worst teams in NHL history, only winning 17 games while every other team in the NHL had won 25 or more. Even in a shortened year where the Red Wings only played 71 games instead of 82, It was the first time the Red Wings finished last in the NHL since the 1985-1986 season.
Then the next year after the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020-21 NHL season ended up being shortened from the normal 82 game format to just 56. Red Wings fans were hoping for anything but another last place finish. The Wings ended up doing better than expected and finished the season with 48 points. Even in a shortened season the Red Wings still finished with more wins than the previous year. Then in the 2021-22 season the Red Wings won 32 games before taking the next step and winning 35 just last year.
With seven games remaining, the Red Wings are going to need every point they can get if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Everything was going well for the Wings when they had made the playoffs for 25 straight years. But a full rebuild to the team to get the Red Wings back where they wanted to be has them sitting on the edge of the playoffs for the first time in years. If the Wings want to get in, they will need every point they can get and it definitely won’t be easy. But with how far this team has come, anything is possible.
