Right now, the Detroit Red Wings are a longshot to make the 2026 playoffs, considering the way their offseason went. But, we also know that when September rolls around and preseason hockey takes center stage, well, optimism will be sky-high even from fanbases whose teams have zero chance to contend.
At least the Red Wings aren't in that category, even if it's tough to like their chances right now. Anyway, let's assume for a minute that the Wings end up stealing a wild card spot. Which matchups would fans look forward to the most?
Below, I have five of them. Four of which would be dream matchups in Round 1, while another would take some luck to materialize.
5 - vs. Florida Panthers
Not every fan would like this for obvious reasons. Chances are, the Panthers would destroy the Red Wings in a playoff series, let's just be real. Still, some fans would look at a potential playoff matchup with Florida and see a golden opportunity here to knock off the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
Personally, I'd be in that contingent, but more fans out there would probably want to see a more feasible matchup than for the Wings take the wild card spot and hope someone else wins the Atlantic.
4 - vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Because sometimes, the division winner is simply a good regular season team that's incapable of making anything more than a mid-tier playoff run. That's haunted the Maple Leafs since the Auston Matthews era began, but at least they've won a couple of playoff series, right?
Still, some fans would embrace the Leafs taking the division and the Wings winning a wild card spot because, let's face it, Toronto can't play consistent hockey when the stakes are at their highest. This one could have 'upset' written all over it.
3. - vs. St. Louis Blues
This one is by far the biggest longshot on the list, since it would only happen if the Red Wings and Blues, somehow, made it to the Stanley Cup Final. Literally everything must click for these former heated division rivals for this one to even have a remote chance of happening, and there needs to be some (or a lot) of luck involved.
But, the Blues are talented enough to at least make a deep playoff run, and the Red Wings could be the 2026 version of what the 2023 Florida Panthers were - a team that barely gets in and gets hot at the right time.
The next thing you know, they're battling for Lord Stanley's Cup. So, this would be No. 1, right? It's the Stanley Cup Final scenario. I thought about it, but this is also a matchup that I'm sure not every fan is thinking about, which docks it a few spots.
2. - vs. New York Rangers
Two teams celebrating their centennial seasons going at it in Round 1 of the 2026 playoffs? That would be awesome. For this one to happen, the Rangers must win the Metro Division, which is also a longshot at this point, and the Wings need to snag a wild card.
But a matchup between a pair of Original Six teams wearing arguably the best uniforms in hockey doesn't get any better. Plus, regardless of what the Rangers do this season, should the Wings end up in the playoffs and play the Blueshirts, I'm going to say that yes, they can upset New York.
1. - vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Did you really think I'd choose anyone else? Imagine, for one second, if the Lightning won the Atlantic, Detroit snuck in as a wild card, and they knocked off a team that saw the Yzerplan work pretty well for them.
Or, at least the Yzerplan helped the Lightning reach championship-caliber hockey, something they're still capable of. This one would be a true 'passing of the torch' moment, regardless, if the Wings skated into Tampa and caught them off guard early in the series, before ultimately taking it.
