With a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, the Detroit Red Wings were all but eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention for the ninth season in a row. Prior to this loss, the Red Wings were effectively eliminated from playoff contention following a 4-1 loss to another Atlantic Division foe in the Montreal Canadians. Despite having a 2-1 record against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers during the 2024-25 season, the Red Wings had a losing record against the Atlantic Division of 10-13-1.
McLellan is technically the third head coach of the Red Wings in general manager Steve Yzerman’s tenure. Yzerman could have let go of Jeff Blashill after taking the job as general manager in 2019, but chose to keep Blashill on. Derek Lalonde replaced Blashill in July of 2022. Yzerman and Lalonde had a relationship when Yzerman was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Lalonde was an assistant coach under Jon Cooper.
Yzerman took over as general manager from Ken Holland in 2019. In that time, Yzerman has done everything he could to make the Red Wings’ roster over. This was no easy feat, as Holland left the Red Wings with a lot of bloated contracts that could not be moved. One thing that cannot be disputed is that the Red Wings have not won a draft lottery in the time that Yzerman has been the general manager. This would allow the team to add a superstar to its roster. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer is projected to go number one overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
The Red Wings missed the Stanley Cup playoffs on the last day of the 2023-24 season after the Washington Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. That is not to say that the Red Wings did not improve under McLellan. The play of two young Red Wings, center Marco Kasper and defenseman Simon Edvinsson, have played well for the team down the stretch. This can only be positive for the Red Wings franchise moving forward.
Kasper was drafted by the Red Wings with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In 74 games played during his rookie season so far, Kasper has scored 18 goals and added 35 assists. These 18 goals have led all rookies since January 1st. The question for McLellan is whether he sees Kasper as a second-line center behind Dylan Larkin. “It’s certainly becoming expected of him,” McLellan said about the high expectations for Kasper, “because he’s such a tremendous player. We’ve talked ad nauseam about the impact he’s had on this team, his teammates.”
Scoring on 27.3% of their power plays through 78 games played, the Red Wings had the third-best power play during the 2024-25 season. On the other hand, the penalty kill was what held the Red Wings back during the season. The 69.5% for penalty kill percentage is the worst in the NHL not only this season but is on pace to be the worst in the NHL since the Los Angeles Kings killed only 68.8% of their power plays during the 1982-83 season.
It is impossible to prove, but if the Red Wings had a league-average penalty kill, they might have made the Stanley Cup playoffs. That is not to say that the penalty kill improved under McLellan. This same scenario played out when McLellan was the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 2024. Assistant coach of the Red Wings, Trent Yawney, was also on the Kings’ staff with McLellan. The Kings had the second-best penalty kill during the 2023-24 season, killing off 84.6% of their penalties. The Kings lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in five games to the Edmonton Oilers.
In his second season with the team, Alex DeBrincat can become the Red Wings’ first forty-goal scorer since Marian Hossa scored forty goals during the 2008-09 season. This move was made to take the scoring load off Larkin. Larkin scored 29 goals and added 37 assists in 79 games played. DeBrincat has scored 36 goals in 78 games played for the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season. With the Red Wings missing the playoffs, these seasons will go unremembered.
Despite firing Derek Blashill after Christmas, the Red Wings nearly made the Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the second season in a row that the team came up just short of this goal. It has been nine seasons since the Red Wings have made the playoffs. New head coach Todd McLellan and general manager Steve Yzerman have a long road to go to make this team into a playoff team. The most glaring issue that this Red Wings’ roster has is the penalty killing unit.
ITR 34: End Of The Road – Inside The Rink
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