Well, the 2024-25 season is history, and a few players won’t be returning to wear the winged wheel in 2025-26. Call it a blessing, but it’s still a job just half done. And if you’re a Red Wings fan, you have got to be sick and disgusted with the way the last two seasons have gone down.
Mar 1, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Justin Danforth (17) shoots and scores a goal against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) in the third period during the NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Samantha Madar/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
The Wings are a team that shows so many flashes, yet has little to brag about. The most frustrating part here is that we know they can play high-octane hockey when they wish. And in doing so, they can beat almost anyone. But it’s almost like they put things in cruise control after a while, and that’s when trouble starts.
Only this season, that ‘trouble’ lasted far longer than it should have. After they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stadium Series, I was confident the Wings wouldn’t slump again like they did last year, but they proved me wrong. And just one day ago, it made me realize that this rebuild is in peril because they lack what so many other playoff-caliber teams have.
Wings have no other choice but to make a risky, blockbuster trade
If the Wings want to stop slumping so much next season, they need to pry a true superstar away from someone. Here’s a rundown of the eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference and their star player, just so you know where I’m coming from.
- Montreal Canadiens: Lane Hutson (seriously)
- Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews
- Tampa Bay Lightning: Nikita Kucherov
- Florida Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk
- Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin
- Carolina Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho
- New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes
Yeah, I know Hughes is out, and that’s the point. When Hughes missed the rest of the season, the Devils became a shell of what they were. An average team, at best. And that’s what I’ve seen from the Red Wings, a team which you can argue has a star player in Lucas Raymond. But Raymond isn’t in the same league as any of the above players, not even the newcomer to that list in Lane Hutson, who has Quinn Hughes-like potential.
But, Matthew Tkachuk went to Florida in a trade, as he wasn’t a Panthers draft pick. And that’s what I’d like to see Steve Yzerman pull off this summer if he doesn’t get fired first.
Finding a crown jewel will give fans something to cheer about in May
The Red Wings are a good team, but as recent history has shown over the past two seasons, they’re not good enough of a team to earn a playoff berth. There are solid players all over the ice for this organization, but solid equals unspectacular in my book. So, go out and find that player who will elevate the on-ice product, and turn what is a solid but middle-of-the-road team into one capable of breaking into the top three.
If Yzerman or whoever is sitting in his seat doesn’t do this, then it’s going to be hard not to write the Red Wings off next season. This incarnation proved it’s not good enough, and it’s because they’re lacking an elite talent.
