Austin Konenski
The Detroit Red Wings won’t be playing playoff hockey after the 2025-26 NHL regular season. The Red Wings have been eliminated from playoff contention after a late-season collapse. Detroit needed to win the rest of its games, but instead lost to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 5-3 on Fan Appreciation Night.
Entering the third period, the Red Wings and Devils were tied before Emmitt Finnie put the team ahead by one goal. New Jersey proceeded to score three unanswered goals, including one on an empty net in the final minute. Despite the success of trade deadline addition Justin Faulk over the last few games, it wasn’t enough to put Detroit into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It marks the end of a massive late-season collapse from the Red Wings. On January 25, Detroit woke up leading the Eastern Conference, and everything was looking up for the organization. The nine-year playoff drought could have been broken; however, it will now extend to 10 seasons, the longest in the NHL right now.
While the Red Wings will likely earn the most points since they made the playoffs during the 2015-16 NHL season, there needs to be changes moving forward. Detroit has collapsed for a second straight season when it matters the most. It isn’t an outlier when it happens again. This is the state of the Red Wings hockey organization at this point.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman could be on the hot seat, and it will be fascinating to see what the organization does moving forward. For now, it is clear that changes need to be made to turn this organization around. Missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs shouldn’t be the norm for the Red Wings.
Read More: Detroit Red Wings 2026 Collapse – Why Big Changes Are Needed
